


Stupid In Love

by gothwoozi



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bickering, Childhood Friends, Comedy, Domestic Fluff, Fake Marriage, Light Angst, M/M, Romantic Comedy, a lot of jihoon and soonyoung roasting each other, if fluff was a shitpost this would be it, just the littlest bit for plot-driving conflict, smut in chapter 7
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-06-26 15:07:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15665682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gothwoozi/pseuds/gothwoozi
Summary: Nobody expects a marriage proposal from someone they’ve never even kissed, much less dated. But, somehow, Jihoon convinces his best friend, Soonyoung, to marry him for federal aid money. Only after they are legally married, does Soonyoung realize his feelings for Jihoon are deeper than they originally seemed.ora fake marriage au





	1. Stupid Ideas: An Autobiography by Lee Jihoon and Kwon Soonyoung

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is set in america since same-sex marriage is legal here. 
> 
> welcome to one big shitpost. i love all of you guys

_ “Marry me.” _

The pink-haired menace known as Soonyoung’s best friend stands unmoving before him. Something about the determination in Jihoon’s eyes tells Soonyoung this is not exactly a joke. 

“ _ Excuse me?  _ But, also what the fuck?!” Soonyoung exclaims, catching the attention of a few other people in the library. Originally, Jihoon was supposed to meet him here to drop off his flash drive which he needed for his next class. This was not what Soonyoung expected from the encounter. 

Nobody expects a marriage proposal from someone they’ve never even kissed, much less dated. 

“Look,” Jihoon begins, taking a seat across from Soonyoung and his open textbook. “This girl in my Art History class just got married, and now she gets plenty of financial aid from the government. Plus, she got a grant from the university! Just for getting married!”

Soonyoung nods his head dumbly in response, still not entirely putting the pieces together. 

“So, what does that have to do with us?” Soonyoung demands, wishing for this conversation to be over already. It’s bad enough he has to live with Jihoon. He’s not sure he wants to  _ marry the guy _ too. 

“Sooo, we can milk the government for money, dipshit!” Jihoon explains as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “We are a young, broke, same-sex couple. With your incredibly low income and my incredibly low income combined, the government will take pity on us as a poor independent household and help cover tuition costs.”

Soonyoung scoffs because this has to be the most asinine, elaborate ruse anybody could ever come up with. 

“You’ve  _ got  _ to be kidding me,” Soonyoung deadpans.

“I’m not, Soonyoung,” Jihoon asserts in a solemn voice. He has his arms crossed, and he’s making the same face he usually makes when Soonyoung says something stupid. “It’s the perfect plan! Exhibit A) We already live together. Exhibit B) I’ve known you since middle school, so it’s not like we’re  _ strangers _ . Exhibit C) We’re already joined at the hip… Need I go on?”

“I don’t know, Ji,” Soonyoung utters. He just can’t believe his best friend since middle school—the one he’s seen do embarrassing shit like make-out with a piece of fruit or vomit in the middle of In-N-Out Burger—is asking him to  _ legally marry him.  _ It’s like all the planets aligned this morning to say  _ Fuck you, Kwon Soonyoung!  _ “It just feels like an incredibly stupid idea.”

“Fine,” Jihoon concludes with a sigh, pretending to get up from his seat. “I’ll go ask Jeonghan. He won’t turn down free money.”

“Jeonghan?! No way! I’ve known you  _ way  _ longer than Jeonghan!”

“Then  _ marry me _ , you asshole!” Jihoon half-begs. How could Soonyoung say no to him?

“Fine!” Soonyoung snaps right back. “I’ll fuckin’ marry you—but I get our collection of Inuyasha DVD’s in the divorce!”

“Deal.”

With that, Soonyoung begins his tumble down a never-ending rabbit hole.

 

******

 

They don’t tell anybody they’re getting married. Rather, Soonyoung and Jihoon just decide to do it the following Friday afternoon, because neither of them has class that day. 

Before they go to the courthouse, they go by a pawn shop in Downtown L.A. It’s a little out of the way since their university is located in a suburb of L.A., but Jihoon wants to make this marriage as convincing as possible. 

So, they buy two unwanted wedding bands from the shopkeep for about $70. Neither matches the other. Jihoon’s is titanium, whilst Soonyoung’s is copper. They’re heavily dented and scratched in several spots. Not to mention, Soonyoung is pretty sure the metals are fake, but they serve the purpose as fake wedding rings for their fake marriage. 

After the pawn shop, Jihoon and Soonyoung go down to the courthouse, where they begin to fill out their marriage license application.

“Who’s gonna change their last name?” Soonyoung asks, watching over Jihoon’s shoulder as he writes down their information. 

Jihoon grimaces in return, clearly not having thought about such a thing. 

“Do we even need to do that? Since we’re both men?” Jihoon mumbles. 

“We already bought fake wedding rings, dude,” Soonyoung states, exasperated. “You want this to be convincing, so we should go the full mile.”

Heavily, Jihoon sighs, digging through the pocket of his jeans. 

“We’ll do a coin flip,” Jihoon decides. It’s completely ridiculous they’re deciding something as important as a name change with dumb luck. “Heads: you’ll be Lee Soonyoung and tails: I’ll be Kwon Jihoon.”

In agreement, Soonyoung nods and takes a deep breath. In the distant back of his mind, it occurs to him how difficult this is going to be to explain to his mother.

A second later, Jihoon flicks his thumb to launch the coin into the air. Soonyoung crosses his fingers, desperately hoping it’s tails. Before it can clatter to the ground, Jihoon catches it mid-air and slaps it down on the back of his fist. 

They’re both almost too scared to look. 

“ _ Tails _ ,” Jihoon announces with a scowl spread across his face. “Fuck! This blows!”

“Ha!” the other laughs in his face, clearly proud of the cards luck dealt him. “Suck it,  _ Kwon Jihoon!” _

In the midst of Soonyoung’s gloating, they’ve caught the attention of several other people waiting on their forms to be processed. It is mostly strange looks, but Soonyoung honestly can’t blame them. They’re two men dressed as if they intended on spending a casual day at the mall together but were filling out an application for a marriage license instead.

Soonyoung is wearing a Naruto t-shirt, for fuck’s sake. 

Among all the couples there waiting to be married, they have to be the youngest. It makes Soonyoung think  _ Oh my fucking god. I’m getting married at 19. This is the stupidest idea ever. _

Ignoring the judgmental stares, Jihoon fills out the last few bits, gets up from his seat, hands the woman behind the counter their application, pays the filing fee, and sits back down to patiently wait to be called back by the officiator.

“God, I can’t believe I’m marrying  _ you _ ,” Soonyoung utters, as he restlessly tries to get comfortable on the stiff wooden benches. When most people have an impromptu courthouse wedding, it’s a phrase which would be said in awe like the other person genuinely can’t wait to spend the rest of their life with their partner. 

But for Soonyoung, it’s more like  _ Why did I let you talk me into this? _

“Oh please,” Jihoon huffs. “It’s not like you’re going to find anybody better than me.”

There was a little bit of truth to that. Nobody knows Soonyoung the way Jihoon does and vice versa. If he tried to find someone who understands him better, Soonyoung is pretty sure he would be shit out of luck.

So, they wait. 

And, Soonyoung starts shaking his leg out of impatience.

“Cut that shit out,” Jihoon hisses under his breath, feeling just as tense.

“Do you remember how we met?” Soonyoung wonders out loud.

“Yeah,” Jihoon laughs a little out the memory. “We were in the same homeroom class, and I thought you were a fucking furry because you always wore the same goddamn rainbow tail strapped to your pants.”

“I was  _ 13,  _ you asshole,” the other shoots right back but is laughing too. “At least, I didn’t wear red eyeliner.”

“ _ It was a fashion statement.” _

They’re both silent, thinking about the years worth of memories they have together as friends. If Soonyoung told his 13-year-old self he would be marrying Lee Jihoon, he would have probably been the happiest kid in the world. 

In middle school, Soonyoung had the  _ biggest  _ crush on Jihoon for whatever reason. He doesn’t remember it anymore. 

After he realized he’d never get the balls to actually confess to Jihoon, Soonyoung moved on and pretended the crush never even happened.

“Are you gentlemen ready, now?” the clerk asks in her  _ I have to be nice to you, or I’ll be fired  _ voice. 

They both take a deep breath and glance at each other. Now is the last chance to back out, but neither of them is taking it. 

In retrospect, Soonyoung realizes there had to be something special there for him to agree so quickly and actually go through with this. 

So, they follow her behind the counter to a room with a wooden podium and two courthouse employees (who were serving as witnesses) sitting in chairs. At the wooden podium, the county clerk stands there, waiting for the couple. 

“Mr. Lee and Mr. Kwon?” he clarifies. He’s also giving them a strange look at the sight of Jihoon in his oversized hoodie, and Soonyoung in his ripped-jeans. They must seem like two shithead teenagers to him.

They kind of  _ are _ .

They both nod in acknowledgement. 

“Typically, couples like to say vows before we officiate the marriage. Do you have anything you would like to say anything to each other?” 

Neither of them prepared for this either. 

“Jihoon, you’re my best friend in this entire world,” Soonyoung claims, staring Jihoon in the eye. “And, even though you are an anal pain-in-the-ass to live with, I love you.”

Everyone in the room besides them is very confused.

“Thanks. I guess,” Jihoon mumbles, unsure what to say back. “You’re super annoying sometimes—and I’m still mad you downloaded porn on my laptop and gave it a virus—but I love you too.” 

The county clerk has a grimace on his face, but he proceeds anyway. He can’t tell them  _ not  _ to get married. 

“Do you, Lee Jihoon, take Kwon Soonyoung to be your lawfully wedded husband in sickness and in health?” 

Jihoon is gazing deep into Soonyoung’s eyes, and something about this feels deeply real. 

“I do.” 

“And do you, Kwon Soonyoung, take Lee Jihoon to be your lawfully wedded husband in sickness and in health?” 

And then, he utters the words he only could have  _ dreamed _ of in middle school and high school.

“I do.” 

“Then, by the power vested in me by the State of California, I now pronounce you husbands. You may kiss the groom.” 

Both of them stare awkwardly at each other for a moment, as both of them forgot weddings were usually finished with a kiss. 

Jihoon is actually the one to kiss the other. It is nothing more than a peck on the lips like your grandmother would give you. 

But it is still their first kiss. The irony is not lost on Soonyoung: it is also the kiss which sealed their marriage. 

Still in a daze from the bizarre and surreal situation, Soonyoung almost doesn’t notice when the county clerk and the witnesses begin signing the marriage license. Afterward, he hands it over to Jihoon and Soonyoung to sign, finalizing their fate. 

_ They were now legally married.  _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmu on twitter (@gothsoonhoon) bc i post things abt my fics on there.


	2. Mr. and Mr. Kwon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i edited a good portion of this by myself so sorry if it's not the same quality you guys are usually used to. 
> 
> also classes start on monday, so i have no clue how frequent updates are going to be while im in school. but im gonna try my best. 
> 
> sorry this took so long

So far, nothing has really changed between Jihoon and Soonyoung. 

After the wedding, they went home to their apartment and carried on with life as normal. They almost forgot they had gotten married.

Until they met with their friends at the campus cafeteria the following Monday.

“What the hell is _that_?” Seungcheol demands, squinting and pointing at the band on Jihoon’s hand. On the other side of the cafeteria, Soonyoung still has not finished paying for his meal.

“Soonyoung and I got married.” Jihoon shrugs as if it isn’t a big deal. To him, it really isn’t. At the statement, Seungcheol’s eyes fly open wide.

“JIHOON! WHAT THE FUCK!?” he shouts for the whole cafeteria to hear, causing Jihoon to wince in embarrassment. At that moment, Soonyoung approaches their table. Immediately with a glare, Seungcheol whips around and turns to the other idiot in question. “When the fuck did you marry Jihoon?!”

“Friday,” Soonyoung deadpans, sitting next to Jihoon. He trades Jihoon his strawberry jello for the other’s chocolate pudding.

“I thought you two _weren’t dating_ ,” Seungcheol hisses in shock. Just as he’s preparing to lecture the two on their latest idiocy, Jeonghan approaches their table.

“We _weren’t,_ ” Jihoon insists, rolling his eyes. “We still aren’t.”

“Wassup sluts?” Jeonghan inserts, setting his tray down and flopping into his chair. “What are we yelling about this time?”

“ _Jihoon and Soonyoung got married,”_ Seungcheol says incredulously, clearly annoyed by his friends’ calm demeanor.

“Oh, congrats,” Jeonghan supplies, seemingly as unbothered as the couple in question are. “When are you two gonna start having kids?”

“Is this a joke?!” Seungcheol demands, glaring at all three of them.

“Surprisingly, it’s not,” Jihoon sneers with a grimace. “We got married for federal aid grants. I have the marriage license to prove it. Also…my name is Kwon Jihoon now.”

“Who’s stupid idea was this?” Seungcheol exclaims, his voice getting a little higher pitched as the conversation goes on.

Simultaneously, Soonyoung and Jeonghan claim “Jihoon’s” whilst the culprit in question states “mine.”

“It’s really just for money,” Soonyoung clarifies, trying to keep this from exploding into something dramatic. With the size of their friend group, that was normally difficult. Everyone gets intense about the stupidest shit. “We aren’t keeping any secrets from you. We just want to exploit the government.”

It’s uncomfortably silent for a moment. Shock still hasn’t left Seungcheol’s face.

“Are you two fucking stupid?” he finally asks, but already knows the answer to.

“Yes,” the other three dutifully respond at the exact same time.

“But at least we’re stupid with less debt,” Jihoon retorts with a shit-eating grin. It makes Seungcheol grit his teeth in frustration. Sometimes, he wishes he could cast off the title of “dad-friend” and stop giving a shit.

But, somebody has to point out how this will only end in disaster.

“Are none of you seeing how this is a dumb idea? Jeonghan?”

“Not my circus. Not my monkeys,” Jeonghan returns, seeming already bored with this conversation as he scrolls through his Twitter feed.

“You’re just jealous because we’re gonna get money for pretending to be in love, while you scrimp for change to buy ramen,” Jihoon snorts, sticking his tongue out while Seungcheol scrunches his nose at the pair.

“Whatever,” Seungcheol hisses, rolling his eyes. “I just can’t wait for this to blow up in your faces.”

They return to their meals without saying anything further on the subject.

  


*****

 

The next day, Seungcheol purposefully encounters Soonyoung at the coffee shop in which he works part-time. It’s the perfect place to talk to Soonyoung without Jihoon there. The idiots were weaker when they weren’t in tandem.

The shop is practically deserted this time of day, so Seungcheol has no issue grabbing the other’s attention.

“Cheol?” Soonyoung asks from behind the counter, quickly hiding his phone as if he wasn’t fucking around on the internet on the clock. He thinks it’s sort of strange to see Seungcheol here since the other lives quite far away from Soonyoung and Jihoon’s neighborhood.

“Hey, Soonyoung,” Seungcheol feigns innocence as if he hasn’t personally come here to interrogate Soonyoung on his own. But, Soonyoung can see through his friend’s sickly sweet smile. It’s the exact same smile Seungcheol once had when he questioned Soonyoung about the _one time_ the other and Jihoon smoked pot at a party.

Soonyoung doesn’t have an older brother, but he’s pretty sure if he did, Seungcheol would match the role exactly.

“Is this about the marriage-thing?” Soonyoung groans in annoyance like a child, rolling his eyes and huffing hot air. “Because we have pretty much given you the cut-and-dry explanation."

“You don’t think any of this is a bad idea, considering you have the _biggest fucking crush_ on Jihoon in history?” Seungcheol hisses, pointing out the elephant in the room. It’s pretty obvious to everyone who has spent more than five minutes with the pair. Well…everyone but the two themselves.

“What are you talking about?” Soonyoung retorts with indignance, but the other doesn’t miss how his voice squeaks slightly. At this point, Soonyoung has started to busy himself with imaginary work behind the counter to ignore Seungcheol who lets out a silent sigh.

Last year, Seungcheol was the Resident Advisor for Jihoon and Soonyoung’s dorm floor until they moved into an apartment together beginning sophomore year. Before he got to know the two, he was entirely convinced the two were dating.

In fact, he thought they had been dating for _years_ , and they only came to the same college to stay together. What else was he supposed to think? It wasn’t uncommon to find Jihoon and Soonyoung sleeping in the same bed or to find them practically sitting in each other’s laps on the couches in the common room.

And _nobody_ could miss the little glances or the way they seemed to be in their own little world around other people. Not to mention, they share a frightening psychic intuition where they know what the other wants before he even says it.

Soonyoung even boasts about his unending knowledge of Jihoon.

Anybody and _everybody_ would assume they were dating. Actually, everybody usually does so.

It wasn’t until Jeonghan informed him they were, in fact, _not dating_ (but he thought the same thing) that Seungcheol officially knew Jihoon and Soonyoung were _just friends_.

Which he knows is a load of horse-shit.

_Just friends_ don’t get married for such a dumb reason as a cash scam.

“Are you really saying you feel _nothing for Jihoon_?” Seungcheol challenges, eyebrows raised and arms crossed. Under the other’s incredulous stare, Soonyoung squirms a little bit. These were feelings he tried to bury a long time ago, and he doesn’t entirely appreciate Seungcheol trying to dig these feelings up.

“Ok, maybe I had a _slight crush_ in middle school, but it really doesn’t mean anything!” Soonyoung insists, not entirely believing it himself. He laughs nervously. “Where do you even get the idea that I like Jihoon?”

“Everybody and their mother thinks you like _Kwon_ Jihoon,” Seungcheol emphasizes Jihoon’s new last name, causing Soonyoung to blush wildly. He still isn’t over the fact Jihoon took his last name -- albeit due to a coin toss, but nonetheless. Seungcheol doesn’t miss how flustered Soonyoung becomes. “In fact, everybody and their mother thinks you were already dating _Kwon_ Jihoon.”

“We’re just really close!” Soonyoung defends.

“Yeah, I know,” Seungcheol deadpans, rolling his eyes. “I’ve seen the two of you holding hands in the library before!”

“Jihoon was afraid I’d get lost in the periodicals! The university library is huge!”

Seungcheol shoots him a knowing look, and Soonyoung is more than aware this is a losing battle.

“It’s really not that big a deal,” Soonyoung insists, somewhat sweeping with a broom behind the counter. When Seungcheol peeps over it, he notices the floor is completely clear. It makes him sigh heavily and rub his eyes tiredly. “Better he marry me for money than some other idiot.”

“Fuck… I guess you’re right,” Seungcheol concedes, ready for this conversation to be over. He accomplished literally nothing by coming to lecture Soonyoung. He still thinks it’s going to blow up in their faces, but they were adults. Whatever happens, the consequences will be their responsibilities. “I’ll see you around, Soonyoung.”

With that, Seungcheol exits the shop, leaving Soonyoung to mull over a six-year crush. Did he ever really stop loving Jihoon? Of course, he loves Jihoon in the way only a close friend could. But, is he in love with Jihoon?

Immediately, he drops the broom and goes back to looking at his phone, trying to ignore the remnants of thoughts from his conversation with Seungcheol.  

 

******

 

For Jihoon, nothing really has changed either — well except, of course, his legal relationship status and last name. Otherwise, he and Soonyoung carried on their friendship as normal.

During the day, they would attend morning classes separately, meet for lunch, and then go to their afternoon classes. The two kept working their own part-time jobs, only to come home late at night to help study together and play video games.

The world kept spinning as usual. Jihoon almost forgot they were husbands at all.

Until Jihoon does something crazy…like care about his education.

In frivolous fashion, Jihoon visits his professor’s office to discuss an essay due in English Composition. He really needs to pass this class. It’s the last core credit Jihoon needs for his degree before he can move on to things he actually cares about. Though what that is, he isn’t sure yet.

But, it sure as hell isn’t English Composition.

The office is situated in a hall of what seems to be just storage rooms and archives.

_Cutbacks,_ Jihoon thinks.

When he knocks on the wood paneling of the open door, his professor’s head instantly shoots up. His hair is sticking in various different directions. His tie is askew, and there are prominent dark rings under his eyes.

In fact, he always looks like that, which Jihoon doesn’t entirely understand. From other students, he hears Professor Kent owes a beach house and has a country club membership.

“Mr. Kwon!” Professor Kent exclaims happily with a wide grin.

Jihoon’s brain doubles over in shock because it is so _weird_ . There are still brain cells which don’t want to connect Jihoon is, in fact, _Mr_ . _Kwon_.

“I’m sorry?” he responds dumbly, knowing well what his professor meant. His last name must’ve changed on all his professors’ rosters.

“Your name change?” Professor Kent’s right eyebrow quirks up in curiosity.

“Oh, yeah!” Jihoon hums in acknowledgment, hoping Professor Kent doesn’t find it weird. He lowers his voice and mutters, “I’m still not used to it yet.”

It’s not exactly a _lie_.

He chuckles, shuffling some papers around on his desk. “Marriage is like that sometimes. You haven’t been married long, have you?”

“Only a couple weeks…” Jihoon trails, fidgeting with the sleeve of his jacket. What if his professor tries to _relate_ to him? He doesn’t know anything about _actually_ being married. “How did you know I was married? I didn’t think the university was allowed to give that information.”

“They aren’t,” the other hums in response, thumbing through some papers. Upon further inspection, Jihoon realizes they’re blank. He isn’t really sure what to make of that. “But, your last name changed and you have a wedding band.”

“Oh.”

“Well, congratulations anyway,” Professor Kent utters with a very slight smile. He’s putting his papers into a drawer now. Suddenly, the room sort of smells like spaghetti. “You’ve made a big commitment.”

Jihoon is silent for a moment, unsure what to say.

“Well…” he begins, trying to come up with a good response. “I’ve been dating my boyfriend for quite a few years, so we decided it was time.”

At calling Soonyoung _his boyfriend_ , Jihoon lets out a little nervous laugh, feeling the thought almost unrealistic. He’s known Soonyoung since they were both dumb 13-year-olds. Absolutely never has he given much thought to any romantic interest in Soonyoung.

Though, it would make the most sense out of _everyone else in the world_.

Who else is Jihoon supposed to spend the rest of his life with? A stranger?

The thought is simply exhausting.

“ _Oooooh. Boyfriend,”_ Professor Kent returns with interest. Jihoon recalls him latently insisting being accepting of all sexualities when the class studied Oscar Wilde. “You’re so brave for getting married as a same-sex couple.”

“Not really-”

“Good luck to both of you,” he cuts off Jihoon, now searching through a shoebox full of receipts which was under the desk. “Young people are so fickle. I hope your marriage will last a long time.”

“What does that mean?” Jihoon spits, feeling a bit defensive.

“Young couples just tend to get divorced,” Professor Kent replies matter-of-factly, clearly not noticing Jihoon’s tone. The shoebox he was searching through turns up nothing, so he sets it back on the floor.

Jihoon felt annoyance course through his veins. Who was Professor Kent to tell him his _fake marriage_ would end in a divorce? He doesn’t need some middle-aged man tell him his marriage might fail. He already knew it was gonna fail anyway!

But, he can’t have it fail now.

“Anyway, I’m sorry,” Professor Kent apologizes, offering Jihoon his full attention. “What did you come in here to speak to me about?”

“Nothing,” Jihoon lies, already exiting the office. “It was nice to speak to you, Professor.”

“Have a good evening, _Mr. Kwon_.”

 

******

 

When Jihoon comes home to his and Soonyoung’s apartment, he slams the door behind him and throws his bag down on the floor.

“How was your day?” Soonyoung asks calmly as he stirs mac and cheese for the two of them on the stove, ignoring these sudden bursts of anger.

“We are never getting fake divorced, Kwon Soonyoung!” Jihoon yells, stomping into his bedroom. “You’re stuck with me forever!”

Soonyoung pauses for a moment.

“Ok, then.”

Deep inside, Soonyoung is very content with this sentiment.

 


	3. Three Incidents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this hasn't really been proofread so please forgive any mistakes.
> 
> there's a few minor ocs for plot development.
> 
> thank you all for waiting!!

It’s the little things which make Jihoon realize, maybe, his feelings for Soonyoung aren’t so platonic after all. They are nothing more than little incidents which crawl under Jihoon’s skin and remind him who has  _ always _ been there. 

He first begins to notice it about two weeks after that fateful day at the county courthouse. Despite constantly telling himself he and Soonyoung were just  _ really good friends _ , feelings begin uncovering themselves after about 6 years of friendship.

It begins on a normal day. Nothing is unusual. 

Like a typical boring Saturday afternoon, Jihoon and Soonyoung decide to go to the mall with a couple friends. It’s one of those rare occurrences where the semester in enough of a lull that they even have time to spend together as a group. 

So, Jihoon and Soonyoung are patiently standing in line at the Taco Bell in the food court, counting how much money they have together in cash. It’s only $9.43, but that’s more than enough money to buy food for two at Taco Bell. Eventually, they are able to approach the counter and make their order. As they take their ticket and large drink (which they’ve decided to share because...  money), Soonyoung is snickering a little bit. They move out of the way to stand and wait for their lunch.

“What?” Jihoon snaps suspiciously, knowing he’s not going to be happy with whatever Soonyoung says.

“Nothing,” Soonyoung lies through little giggles, even though Jihoon can tell he’s clearly dying to spill. He’s a little pink in the face from laughing, which Jihoon totally  _ does not find cute _ . Not at all. Not one bit. “It’s just that…. the cashier’s hot pink streak in her hair reminded me of you in 8th grade.”

Jihoon turns around and looks at the cashier, seeing she’s clearly a high schooler still in her emo phase. Suddenly, he remembers when he dyed his bangs firetruck red in middle school. But if he remembers correctly, Soonyoung kept telling him how cool he looked. 

If Soonyoung wants to play this game, Jihoon isn’t going down without a fight. 

“Are you kidding me, Kwon Soonyoung?” Jihoon deadpans with a very convincing fake glare. “You were literally the epitome of  _ rawr means ‘I love you in dinosaur.’  _ I still have conversations on my phone where you sent me  _ rawr XD _ .”

“Remind me, dear Jihoon, which one of us had wet dreams about My Chemical Romance?” Soonyoung shoots right back, clearly feeling triumphant that he won this round. 

“That was  _ one time, _ ” Jihoon hisses, face heating up quickly in embarrassment. “I was 15!”

Before Soonyoung can retort, their number is called. So, Soonyoung walks up to the counter, picks up the bag, then grabs Jihoon’s hand when he comes back. 

“There are a lot of people here, and I don’t want to lose you in the crowd,” Soonyoung explains, though he really doesn’t need to. Hand holding is somewhat normal for them. “You know… because you are so small.”

In response, Jihoon lightly kicks Soonyoung in the shin. The other is still laughing as he winces slightly in pain. 

When they finally find Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Chan in the midst of the loud, busy food court, Jihoon does not approach them with a greeting. 

Rather, the first thing which comes out of his mouth is “Who wants to see Soonyoung with braces?” 

This is his own personal form of payback for the teasing he has had to endure from his supposed  _ husband _ .

“Oh, please. God, yes!” Jeonghan immediately responds, setting his forgotten phone face down on the table. 

In stark contrast, Seungcheol rolls his eyes and continues pushing around his mashed potatoes and gravy in their little styrofoam bowl. It wasn’t unusual for the two to have competitions over who was the most embarrassing. To Seungcheol, the clear answer is they were (and still are) equally embarrassing which is why they are perfect for each other. 

Seungcheol thinks they’re probably literally goddamn soulmates but neither of them has the emotional competence to recognize it. 

“Should I say yes?” Chan leans over and whispers in Seungcheol’s ear. He’s a senior in high school who’s shadowing Seungcheol at the College of Business for a school assignment. So, he doesn’t have a very good grip on the group’s dynamics yet. 

“It doesn’t really matter,” Seungcheol deadpans, shoveling mashed potatoes into his mouth. “He’s gonna show us regardless of our answers.”

In that instant, Jihoon is scrolling through the camera roll of his phone while Soonyoung pouts like a petulant child and tries desperately to reach for the phone. Though it’s a fruitless effort because Jihoon has begun to hide behind Jeonghan for safety. 

Finally, Jihoon finds it and hands the phone to Jeonghan. After glancing a few times between the photo and the person himself, Jeonghan exclaims “Holy shit! Puberty hit you like a bus, Soonyoung!”

In curiosity, Seungcheol leans over Jeonghan’s shoulder and looks at the photo in question. He’s completely right. This photo (which looks like Jihoon took it on the school bus) barely looks anything like Soonyoung. He has the typical long black emo hair which has been straightened to cover his right eye. There’s a fair amount of acne, and everyone can see the braces which line Soonyoung’s wide grin. 

After looking at the photo compared to the Soonyoung in front of him, Jihoon can’t help but agree with Jeonghan’s statement. Soonyoung was no longer the awkward, greasy teenager which Jihoon familiarized himself with for at least 6 years. Ever since they were 17 years old, there’s been an underlying change with Soonyoung. 

And, it goes beyond appearances. 

It’s almost as if, while growing up, Soonyoung gained a sort of confidence and allure which Jihoon had never consciously recognized until this moment. 

Though Jihoon knows how much of a goofy teenager Soonyoung was, he can’t deny Soonyoung is a  _ very attractive _ person. In fact, he could probably be going out with anybody he wants, yet he still spends most of his time fucking around with Jihoon and doing the same things they’ve been doing since they were 13. 

Maybe, he has been taking Soonyoung slightly for granted. 

After turning slightly pink from the compliment, he instantly responds to Jihoon’s challenge of embarrassment. 

“Who wants to see Jihoon’s emo phase?” he drawls smugly, feeling satisfactory at the glare on Jihoon’s face. 

“Is this fucking Christmas?” Jeonghan groans, making grabby hands towards Soonyoung’s phone. “I love when you two decide to humiliate each other because I am ultimately the winner.”

Soonyoung scrolls his through his phone, looking for just the right photo. There’s one from freshmen year a classmate took of Jihoon with a Gamecube controller sitting in Soonyoung’s lap at a friend’s house. Soonyoung remembers that night. A few friends put together a makeshift Super Smash Bros tournament, and Jihoon massacred everyone. Unfortunately, Soonyoung was eliminated the first round, but he stayed to support Jihoon. 

It’s not the photo he chooses to show, though.

It’s not for anyone else to see. Some memories, he prefers to keep to himself, so he can look back on them with pure, unadulterated adoration. 

Instead, he chooses a video of Jihoon playing guitar in their sophomore year of high school. He hands the phone to Jeonghan who instantly presses play. In the video, Jihoon has dark red hair and a bit of red eye makeup. It’s not very cringey in Soonyoung’s opinion. In fact, it’s tastefully emo. He chose to show the video because it deserves to be seen by somebody.

As 16-year-old Jihoon performs Brain Stew by Green Day on his bright red guitar, Soonyoung has a wide grin on his face. He’s clearly proud  _ this _ is his best friend. 

“I didn’t know you played guitar, Ji,” Seungcheol comments. 

“I don’t anymore,” Jihoon deadpans, giving Soonyoung a knowing look. 

“You are so talented though, Hoonie,” Soonyoung gushes, clinging to Jihoon and trying to kiss him on the cheek now. “You would be such a cool rockstar! I would totally be your groupie!”

“Really? In front of my salad?” Seungcheol groans in disgust. “I would say ‘get married already!’ but you two already did that.”

“Please get a room,” Chan complains with a grimace. Much to Seungcheol’s fault, he’s not completely aware their marriage is a sham “I get you two are husbands, but if you make out at this table, I will scream.”

Instead of separating from Soonyoung, Jihoon stubbornly plops himself down in Soonyoung’s lap and sticks his tongue out at Chan. Without hesitation, Soonyoung wraps his arms around Jihoon’s waist, and he looks like the happiest person on the planet. 

Jihoon feels his stomach fluttering when he thinks of how perfectly they fit together. It’s something he definitely should’ve noticed years ago. 

 

*******

 

The second incident is typical as well. Nothing unusual, except for Jihoon’s work schedule.

Recently, he started a new job at an all-night diner, but he has not been required to work an overnight shift. Until now…

He goes on his break around midnight, and much to his surprise, he sees Soonyoung’s car pull into the parking lot. Typically, Soonyoung will visit him on his break, but Jihoon doesn’t expect it this time especially when his break is so late at night. 

But, in comes Soonyoung with a plastic bag from Jihoon’s favorite neighborhood Thai restaurant in hand. 

“Sir, you can’t bring that in here,” another new waitress points out, gesturing towards the bag. 

“Don’t worry, Marie,” Jihoon interrupts, instantly walking towards Soonyoung’s spot and taking off his apron. “That’s my dinner and my idiot.”

With that, she turns back to wiping down tables. 

“You didn’t have to bring me dinner,” Jihoon begins, taking the bag from Soonyoung’s hand. “I can eat here.”

“But, do you  _ really _ want to eat here?” Soonyoung questions with a knowing grin and a quirked eyebrow.

Jihoon is silent for a moment. 

“No.”

“Exactly,” Soonyoung teases playfully. Already knowing the rules, Soonyoung grabs Jihoon’s hand and leads him out the front door. It’s restaurant policy that employees can’t eat outside food inside the diner. 

So, they go to sit out in Soonyoung’s car, where Jihoon puts his feet up on the dashboard and practically inhales his food. Soonyoung can see dried pancake batter on the bottom of Jihoon’s sneakers, but he doesn’t bother to tell him to remove them from his dash. 

Neither really talk because Jihoon’s too focused on his rice. There’s no sound except for the cars passing on the highway in the distance and an 80s love song playing quietly on the radio. 

Soon, Jihoon finishes eating and disposes of his trash in the plastic bag. 

“I’ll come to pick you up after work,” Soonyoung states softly, tucking the trash away behind his seat and internally reminding himself not to leave it there. 

“You don’t have to,” Jihoon insists, not wanting Soonyoung to stay up late for his sake. “I don’t get off until 4 in the morning. I can walk home.”

“In this neighborhood?” Soonyoung scoffs with a grimace. “I don’t think so. I’ll be here.”

Rather than arguing, Jihoon nods his head in compliance. Some light from the neon diner sign floods into the car, and Jihoon looks over at Soonyoung who returns the gaze. 

It occurs to Jihoon if they were actually together, this might be the moment he leans over and kisses the other. Then, he wonders what it must be like to kiss Soonyoung. Stupidly, he glances at Soonyoung’s lips. It would be so easy to just lean over and kiss him. 

But, Jihoon’s eyes snap away from Soonyoung’s lips when the other starts to lean slightly over the console between them. 

“W-well, I should be getting back to work,” Jihoon rushes, opening the car door and refusing to look at Soonyoung. “I’ll see you later.”

Before Soonyoung can respond, Jihoon has slammed the door behind him and is practically running towards the diner. 

“See you later, Ji,” Soonyoung sighs to himself. 

When Jihoon gets back into the diner, his heart is about to pound out of its chest. It’s so distracting he almost doesn’t notice Marie talking to him.

“Is that your husband?” she asks, leaning against the counter in boredom. 

“Yeah,” Jihoon says shakily. His own voice sounds foreign to his ears. 

“He’s cute,” she comments flippantly. “I wish my boyfriend would bring me dinner like that. Your husband is a keeper.”

“Yeah,” he agrees, looking out the window towards Soonyoung’s car which was backing out of its parking space. He can see Soonyoung has a stupid smile on his face, and Jihoon’s heart flutters in his chest. “He really is.”

 

*******

 

The third incident isn’t as typical, as it involves someone Jihoon never expected to see after high school.

On Monday morning, he and Soonyoung are studying in the campus coffee shop. Usually, they study together in the library, but Jihoon felt an intense need for a warm cup of coffee on this slow morning. 

The bell on the door rings and Jihoon glances up from his book out of instinct. But, he doesn’t expect to see anyone he recognizes. 

Though, life has a funny way of saying  _ fuck you _ to people trying to mind their own damn business and read their California Government textbook. 

“Holy shit, dude!” Jihoon hisses under his breath to Soonyoung. “That’s Courtney!"

“Whomst?” Soonyoung asks dumbly, his brain not exactly connecting the dots. 

“Courtney,” Jihoon whispers again unhelpfully as if that clears anything up. “The girl who stood me up on prom night junior year. I didn’t even know she went to this school.”

Soonyoung remembers now. Despite their tradition of going to every school dance and function  _ together _ , Jihoon decided to go out on a limb and ask out this girl he was head over heels for. As it turns out, she only agreed to go with Jihoon because she was trying to make an ex-boyfriend jealous. They got back together, and Jihoon didn’t know until he arrived at her house in full tuxedo. Soonyoung had to suck up his own hurt of being second choice and become Jihoon’s shoulder to cry on.

Finally remembering, Soonyoung glares in her direction. 

Unfortunately for Jihoon, they chose a table closer to the counter. So, he ducks his head, hoping she won’t notice him. He prays she’ll just walk past him.

“Lee Jihoon?” 

_ Damn! Damn! Damn!  _ Jihoon curses.

He looks up at her and her face lights up instantly in recognition. 

“I haven’t seen you since high school!” she exclaims then looks Jihoon over with a look of approval, making Soonyoung glare harder at her. 

_ She doesn’t just get to decide she wants him now that he’s hot,  _ Soonyoung thinks begrudgingly.

“We should get a drink and catch up some ti-.”

“I’m married!” Jihoon blurts nervously, gesturing towards his wedding band. 

“Oh... Congratulations. Who’s the lucky lady?”

“Me,” Soonyoung says sticking his hand slightly up in his hair. He has a goofy yet smug grin on his face. 

“Oh… I didn’t even know you were gay.”

“Actually, I’m bisexual,” Jihoon snaps, not missing how satisfied Soonyoung looks across from him. “And, my name is  _ Kwon _ Jihoon now.”

“Right…. Well. I guess I’ll see you around, Jihoon.”

She walks away from the table quickly.

“God, you are the biggest bitch,” Soonyoung snickers, feeling  _ something _ swell in his chest. “I literally fucking love you, Jihoon.”

Something in Jihoon’s stomach flutters when Soonyoung practically says  _ I love you, _ even though he’s done it a million times before. He decides to ignore it.

“She can’t suddenly decide she’s interested in me  _ now _ ,” Jihoon growls under his breath, rolling his eyes.

“Right?!” Soonyoung exclaims in agreement, voice rising in pitch. Then, he visibly relaxes and contorts his face to a very mischievous one. “Besides… you’re mine. You can’t cheat on your husband.”

Jihoon knows he’s teasing, but  _ fuck _ . His breath hitches slightly, and it hits him like a truck.  _ There’s nobody but Soonyoung _ . Ever since they were kids, Soonyoung has  _ always been there _ . It has  _ always  _ been Soonyoung, and Jihoon is one stupid motherfucker. 

These collective incidents have made Jihoon realize he is very much in love with Kwon Soonyoung. 

 


	4. Lost Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was, once again, poorly edited by me, myself, and i, so take it or leave it.
> 
> thanks to everyone who's been waiting patiently for updates! college has got me whipped lately.

“I’ve got a BIG problem, Choi Seungcheol!” Jihoon bursts into the student help center where Seungcheol and Jeonghan work. Seungcheol instantly perks up from the spot he was previously asleep, and Jeonghan momentarily glances up from his magazine to glare at Jihoon.

“Unless it’s that you can’t find your classroom, I don’t want to hear it, Jihoon,” Seungcheol sighs, turning away from Jihoon in his swivel chair.

In a show to get Seungcheol’s attention, Jihoon stomps up to the help desk, slaps his palms down onto the wooden surfaces, and grimaces like a grumpy old man. Jeonghan starts laughing behind his magazine.

“I’m in love with Soonyoung,” Jihoon hisses under his breath, glaring at the both of them.

“You’re in love with the man you are married to?! How scandalous!” Seungcheol gasps, not even trying to hide his mocking tone. When Jihoon’s gaze grows sharper, Seungcheol rolls his eyes. “As if it wasn’t obvious, Ji.”

“What the hell does that mean?!” the other snaps.

“What he means,” Jeonghan supplies in annoyance, lowering his magazine to make eye contact with Jihoon, “is that you two are an actual married couple. You guys do everything couples do, short of kissing and having sex. Last week, you and Soonyoung bickered over which fabric softener brand is better for 10 minutes.”

“Did you know that Chan didn’t even know your marriage is fake?” Seungcheol deadpans quickly. “I had to personally explain to him how moronic the two of you are.”

“First of all, Soonyoung likes Downy, even though he knows it makes him break out. I refuse to buy it! Besides, I do our laundry most of the time, and I should pick our fabric softener,” Jihoon interjects, instantly realizing it makes him sound like an old housewife.

The two of him stare at him knowingly with their lips pursed. Seungcheol, personally, has an eyebrow quirked.

“Ok! I see your point!” Jihoon snaps, frowning intensely. Then, he groans loudly, resting his head on the help desk in front of him. “What the fuck am I going to do? I am so fucked.”

“I told you this would blow up in your face, Ji,” Seungcheol retorts, not feeling as much satisfaction as he thought he would by saying I told you so. “You just have to figure it out on your own.”

“Whatever,” Jihoon mutters, leaving the help center dejectedly.

After he’s gone, Jeonghan speaks.

“Isn’t Soonyoung also in love with him?”

“Yep.”

“They are such idiots,” Jeonghan says with a strange fondness in his voice. “God, I love them!”

******

Originally, Jihoon intends on ignoring Soonyoung altogether. If he can’t be smothered by his husband’s constant affection, then he can’t possibly reveal his secret of being in love with the guy.

During all his classes and time on campus for the remainder of the day, Jihoon perfected his plan of blocking all of Soonyoung’s “friendly love.”

Though, the plan seems more fool-proof when Jihoon is meticulously going over it in English composition while he’s away from the culprit in question.

But when Jihoon is walking home, the plan seems a lot less feasible. He lives with the guy. Surely, he can’t avoid Soonyoung forever.

Whenever he’s within sight of their apartment building’s parking lot, he spots Soonyoung old junky old car that he bought from a toothless old man for 500 hundred dollars. Now that they’re actual adults, the car seems a lot less cool than it did when they were 17. But, it gets the two of them from point A to point B usually.

It’s really all poor college students could hope for.

The car destroys Jihoon’s plan within a matter of seconds. Soonyoung is home, and Jihoon really can’t avoid the man he’s married to.

So, he climbs the stairs and resigns to his fate.  
“Hey, Ji,” Soonyoung calls from another room as soon as Jihoon closes the door behind him. Jihoon pads into the kitchen with his hands meekly tucked into the pockets of his jean jacket. In the kitchen, it’s a typical sight. Soonyoung sorting. through the mail with his book bag tossed haphazardly onto the tiled floor. “Aren’t you off work tonight?”

“Yeah, why?” the other asks cautiously, setting his book bag down next to Soonyoung’s.

“Do you want to go see a movie?” Soonyoung wonders out loud, still looking at mail. “...Maybe go out to eat.”

Immediately, Jihoon scoffs. They don’t have the kind of money to go to the movies. After they pay rent, bills, and tuition, all they have money left for is groceries.

“I would rather eat for the rest of the month,” Jihoon retorts, taking off his sneakers and searching through the pantry for something good to eat. At first, he decides on a Poptart, but he sees that the box is empty.

Typical, Jihoon thinks. Soonyoung always eats the last of something then leaves the box to taunt Jihoon of the sweet treat he can’t have.

“When are you going to throw away your empty boxes away, Kwon Soonyoung?” Jihoon gripes, tossing the offending material into the trash.

“First of all, why do you always assume it’s me?” the other challenges, squinting at Jihoon with no real menace.

“You’re the only other person who lives in this apartment,” Jihoon interrupts, rolling his eyes. In his head, it occurs to him how right Jeonghan is. They are a married couple. “Unless, you have some mistress that I, your husband, doesn’t know about.”

“I’m too busy with you to have a mistress,” Soonyoung mumbles, sticking out his tongue at Jihoon when the other glares at him. “Besides, it could be a ghost, Hoonie. Remember that thing we saw on Buzzfeed Unsolved?”

At this point, Jihoon is rubbing his temples in mock annoyance. Often, he likes to pretend Soonyoung gives him a headache, but actually, he’s very fond of the guy -- even when he says incredibly stupid things.

“I don’t think ghosts have digestive systems, Soonyoung,” he sighs, scowling at the other.

“Whatever! Anyway! As I was saying!” Soonyoung shouts, trying to get back to his original thought. “We do have enough money to go out. Our grant covered what scholarships didn’t for our tuitions. The bills and rent are paid. I set 200 dollars aside for groceries, and we have money left over.”

“Wow,” Jihoon breathes, not often seeing the serious-adult-side of Soonyoung. “And, people think I’m the mature and responsible one of the two of us.”

Soonyoung ignores this.

“Let’s go to the movies, Ji,” he coaxes softly as if he’s wanted to do something like this for a long time. Instantly, his face brightens as a thought comes to him. “We can go to the nice movie theater! The one with reclining seats and IMAX!”

After seeing how excited Soonyoung is, Jihoon relents. If they have money for it, then why shouldn’t they?

“I’ll go freshen up, and then we’ll leave,” Jihoon says, turning away from Soonyoung.

It occurs to Jihoon the whole idea feels like a date, but he quickly suppresses that sentiment in his head. Shouldn’t it be strange to have an unwanted crush on his husband?

This whole situation is kinda fucked, Jihoon thinks.

*****

When they actually get to the movies, they quickly realize it’s that one weird period in fall where nothing good is playing except for B-rated horror movies.

So, they decide to buy tickets for some movie about a vengeful clown -- much to Jihoon’s regret, because tonight, he’s probably going to have to sleep in the same bed with Soonyoung who scares easily.

“Two tickets for Curse of Chucky at 7:30, please,” Jihoon politely asks the girl in the booth, setting down his money for her to take.

“Can I see your ID, sir?” she points at specifically at Jihoon, practically ignoring Soonyoung’s existence. When Jihoon glares at her in response, she rolls her eyes.

Instead of causing a scene, Jihoon – with an obvious scowl on his face – fishes his ID out of his wallet and slaps it down on the counter for her to check.

She squints as she glances between the picture on the plastic card and Jihoon as if he was trying to give her the slip or something. Though, he can’t understand why, because nobody would go to the trouble of getting a fake ID to watch this tragedy of a horror movie.

“Thank you, sir,” she finally concedes, seeming satisfied Jihoon was indeed an adult. She takes the cash on the counter, types something into her computer, then hands Jihoon his change and newly-printed tickets.

Both of which Jihoon snatches from her hands.

They walk away to get in the concession line.

“I can’t believe the nerve of that girl!” Jihoon complains, crossing his arms over his chest as he fumed. He turns to Soonyoung. “Do I look like a minor to you?!”

Soonyoung ignores this question, because he knows whatever his answer is, he’ll be in deep trouble. Like… no hand-holding or late-night-cuddles kind of trouble.

“Do you want to share an Icee?” he asks nervously, sweating bullets as Jihoon glares at him for his obvious subject change. “I hear the got a new orange flavor! Or, we could just get Coke. I know how much you love Coke.”

“Don’t change the subject!” the other snaps, scowling.

“Look!” Soonyoung quickly diverts again, pointing at the shelves of candy. Unfortunately, the line is moving slowly, so he’s stuck with Jihoon’s fury for good while. “They have Pocky! What kinda weeb shit?!”

“I don’t care about-” Jihoon starts but is quickly distracted. “Is that cookies and cream flavor!? Hand me a box!”

Silently, Soonyoung breathes a sigh of relief as he hands Jihoon the box. For the moment, he’s content.

So, Soonyoung takes this moment to wrap his arm around Jihoon’s shoulders. It earns him a little elbow to the gut.

But, he doesn’t move his arm.

Just when Jihoon is about to tell Soonyoung to fuck off, they take their places at the front of the line.

“One large Coke, a large popcorn, and the Pocky,” Soonyoung orders, still not removing his arm from Jihoon’s shoulder until the cashier tells him the total.

Then, he pulls his wallet from his pocket and pays.

“Isn’t a large too big?” Jihoon asks as they walk away from the counter.

“No, because you are a bottomless pit, Hoonie,” Soonyoung hums, earning him another elbow to the gut.

But, the smile on Jihoon’s face is worth it.

*****

The movie was the longest hour and a half of Jihoon’s life. The only highlight was when Soonyoung would practically cling to Jihoon during the gory scenes.

...Which were practically every other scene.

“Why was there so much blood?!” Soonyoung shouts hysterically as they exit the theater. Jihoon’s holding on to his hand firmly so he doesn’t get lost among the crowd. “What if some deranged doll tries to kill me in my sleep tonight, Hoonie?!”

“If it’ll get you to stop yelling, I’ll let you sleep in my bed tonight,” Jihoon deadpans, tightening his grip on Soonyoung’s hand.

“Really?! It’s that easy?!” Soonyoung exclaims, getting some attention from the other movie patrons. “I’m going to be scared for the rest of my life then.”

“Oh my god,” Jihoon mutters quietly, as he buries his face into his hand in embarrassment. “Please, shut up.”  
“Never,” the other retorts with a shit eating grin.

******

After the movie, they choose to eat at a Waffle House across the street. It’s cheap, and Soonyoung likes messing with their ancient jukebox.

One of his favorite thing to do is play All-Star by Smash Mouth five times in a row, because he’s that kind of obnoxious college kid.

But, it earns quite a few rambunctious fits of laughter from Jihoon, so it’s totally worth it.

After the fourth time, a disgruntled truck driver leaves, glaring at Jihoon who is getting syrup all over himself as he howls in laughter. It’s the kind of laughter which makes him double over the table and slap it like a madman.

Soonyoung stifles laughter, trying to keep himself from spitting out his orange juice.

“Wow,” he snickers lowly. “That’s really attractive, Hoonie.”

“Hey!” he snaps with a mouthful of waffle. “I’m still your husband!”

“I know,” Soonyoung preens with a goofy grin on his face. “And, this is the most romantic date I’ve ever been on. Watching you stuff your face, as Shrek music plays in the background. It’s what every little boy dreams of.”

“If you still want to sleep in my bed, I suggest you drop that tone,” Jihoon threatens as he wipes syrup away from the corner of his mouth.

“Damn,” the other hisses under his breath, fishing another quarter for the jukebox out of his pocket. “You have so much power for such a tiny little man.”

“I’ll show you tiny!” Jihoon immediately retorts without thinking, realizing how that can be mistranslated into a sexual innuendo. From the way Soonyoung’s face turns pink, he can tell it was.

When Soonyoung turns his back to Jihoon to feed the machine more change, he slaps his face with his palm, feeling embarrassment course through his entire body.

Luckily, they continue their meal without mentioning it.

******

As they’re exiting the restaurant (much to the pleasure of the employees and other customers), Jihoon grabs Soonyoung’s sleeve, before he can open his car door.

“I have to talk to you about something,” Jihoon says solemnly, feeling like a Waffle House parking lot at 10 o’clock at night was the perfect spot to confront the issue between them.

Instead of responding, Soonyoung just stares at Jihoon intently and nods his head.

“Have you… ever noticed how people actually think you and I are dating?” he wonders out loud, nervously fidgeting with the sleeve of his jacket. Well.. actually, it’s technically Soonyoung’s jacket.

Soonyoung swallows thickly. He feels like a nervous teenager in high school all over again.

“I know,” he huffs with a little laugh. “It’s strange, right?”

“Right!” Jihoon returns an awkward smile. His heart is beating rapidly in his chest, as he’s disposition turns serious again. “Do you think it would be weird if we were dating?”

“Not at all,” the other confesses, not trying to hide the way he’s staring at Jihoon’s lips. “I mean… it’d only make sense, right?”

“Right….” Jihoon mumbles under his breath. It’s barely audible.

When Soonyoung begins to lean in, Jihoon’s brain screams at him to move away. They’ve been friends for too long! A relationship would ruin everything!

But, he doesn’t.

Instead, he stands very still and stares at Soonyoung’s lips as they grow closer to his. Jihoon almost can’t believe this is happening to him. He never expected to ever kiss Soonyoung, much less in the parking lot of a Waffle House.

When Soonyoung finally closes the distance between them and places his lips on the other’s, Jihoon can feel his hands trembling. He’s so nervous. What if Soonyoung suddenly realizes this isn’t what he wants? What if he realizes he wants something new and different, not the same person he’s known since he was 13?

For a moment, Jihoon is so nervous that he forgets to return the kiss. In disappointment, Soonyoung begins to pull away, prepared to apologize and pretend the incident never even happened.

But, Jihoon doesn’t let him.

Rather, he grabs onto Soonyoung’s shirt and pulls him closer, deepening the kiss. Instantly, one of Soonyoung’s hands come up to caress Jihoon’s jaw, while the other goes to hold onto his husband’s waist. He can feel the cold metal of Soonyoung’s wedding band pressing against his skin.

Initially unsure what to do with his hands, Jihoon decides to wrap them around Soonyoung’s waist, gripping the fabric of Soonyoung’s bomber jacket tightly in his fists.

Jihoon notes that the kiss tastes like chocolate chip waffles and syrup.

It’s over quicker than it started, as Soonyoung pulls away for air. Jihoon stands there starstruck, feeling his entire brain start to melt.

It’s really quiet for a moment.

“Do you still want to sleep in my bed tonight?” Jihoon asks breathlessly, trying to process the kiss which was ultimately inevitable. They couldn’t always avoid whatever has been between them since they were kids.

Soonyoung swallows thickly, quickly opening the car door for Jihoon.

“Yes, please,” he squeaks like an awkward teenager. It makes Jihoon feel like they’re just catching up on all the lost time they missed in high school.

Maybe… being in love with Kwon Soonyoung wasn’t so bad.

 


	5. Squeak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this fic has gotten slightly more spicy, but not by much. it's still a shitpost.
> 
> once again. poorly proofread. 
> 
> thanks to everyone who has read and left kudos/comments!!

During the drive home, neither mention the kiss, nor the pandora’s box it opened. In fact, they don’t even speak. Rather, Jihoon just stares out the window, overanalyzing what Soonyoung sleeping in his bed would entail  _ now _ .

A week ago, Soonyoung sleeping in his bed would just mean tangled limbs and  _ actual sleeping.  _

Now,  _ tangled limbs _ may have an entirely different meaning for them. 

It’s not as if he doesn’t find Soonyoung attractive. Rather, he’s mentally psyching himself the fuck out. 

But, could anyone blame him? He might or might not be about to have sex with someone he’s been best friends with for 6 years. 

Anyone would be stressed the fuck out.

And, somehow, Jihoon can tell Soonyoung is thinking the same thing because his line of sight stays locked on the road. He’s gripping the wheel so tightly, his knuckles are turning white. 

Momentarily, Jihoon tries to push away the thought being with Soonyoung in  _ that way —  _ too nervous to wander into that unchartered territory. 

But, the thought isn’t gone for long. 

Because a  _ sex song _ begins playing on the radio. 

_ What higher power is there that hates me  _ this  _ much?  _ Jihoon wonders, feeling his face heat up. 

When he glances at Soonyoung, he can tell he’s obviously suffering just as much.

At least, Jihoon has that small satisfaction

_ Know you wanna see me naked. _

From the corner of his eye, Jihoon sees Soonyoung swallow thickly, then the car speeds up slightly, tearing through the freeway. 

Instead of thinking about what that means, Jihoon chooses to resume staring out the window and reading the well-lit billboards along the way. 

_ Penis Enlargement Pills starting at $39.99 _

Softly, Jihoon begins hitting his forehead against the window. This was the curse of living in a sex-obsessed society. Everything is about dicks!

_ I need to move to the mountains of Canada _ , Jihoon thinks with a grimace. 

With worry, Soonyoung  _ finally  _ glances at Jihoon. This might be the first time since they kissed 20 minutes ago. 

“Are you okay, Ji?” he asks with a raised eyebrows. 

Without missing a beat.

“Did you know you can buy penis enlargement pills for 40 bucks?” Jihoon drawls, voice dripping with latent sarcasm and irony. If he can turn it into a joke, maybe the thought of Soonyoung’s own dick will be more funny than attractive. 

Bad idea. Bad joke. Bad delivery.

Soonyoung begins coughing violently, and Jihoon just  _ knows _ he’s choking on his own spit. 

From that reaction alone, Jihoon knows it would just be better if he didn't mention penises at all. 

But, for some reason, his own mouth doesn’t catch on to that sentiment.

“Not that you would need them! I’m sure your dick is just fine,” Jihoon rushes, trying to climb out of this hole he’s dug himself. For some reason, he can’t seem to  _ shut up _ . “Not that I’m even thinking about your dick!”

Soonyoung clearly looks mortified, as he violently blushes. He might fling himself from this moving car at any moment, if Jihoon keeps finding new ways to humiliate both of them.

“Remember that time I accidentally walked in on you in the shower?” Jihoon continues to blurt against his will. Why can’t he  _ shut the hell up?! _ “Your dick seemed perfectly above average then.”

As Soonyoung begins exiting off the freeway, he makes a nervous squeak, slightly veering onto the shoulder of the road. His face is the reddest Jihoon has ever seen it. And, Jihoon has seen Soonyoung’s face when Taemin winked at him during KCON.

“You good, chief?” Jihoon asks teasingly. 

“Please stop talking about penises, Lee Jihoon,” Soonyoung grits out, stopping at a red light. “I’m trying to focus on the road.” 

“We’re pulling out the last name, are we?” Jihoon continues his mischief. “Well, you should know better than anyone else that my last name is not Lee.”

“Do you want me to crash this car and kill us both?!” Soonyoung tries to snap, but it comes out as more of a whimper.

“Actually, I have a 10-page essay due on Monday, so that would be wonderful,” Jihoon jokes, trying to channel his usual self  _ who does not think about sex with Kwon Soonyoung.  _ His mind instantly goes back to how Soonyoung’s hands felt on his waist. 

_ Maybe, those hands wouldn’t feel so bad somewhere else _ , Jihoon thinks involuntarily. 

At that moment, Jihoon’s breath hitches, and Soonyoung glances over in his direction. By the other’s small little grin, Jihoon feels Soonyoung knows  _ exactly  _ what he’s thinking of. He can’t tell if it’s because he was too obvious or because he and Soonyoung share a psychic mind connection.

Finally, they pull into their designated parking space, after 10 minutes of LA freeway torture. Jihoon checks to make sure it’s parking space #37, because their bitchy neighbor once had Soonyoung’s car towed when he accidentally parked in space #38. Frankly, Jihoon doesn’t think she was that fond of them to begin with. Every time the two of them pass her in the hall, she mutters something about “the damn gays” underneath her breath. 

_ Boy,  _ Jihoon thinks.  _ She’s  _ really  _ going to be unhappy now that Soonyoung and I might start having loud sex. _

“Am I in the right spot?” Soonyoung questions, unbuckling his seatbelt. 

Jihoon gives him a thumbs up. 

"Now,” he says. “If Mrs. O’Brien tows your car, it’ll be a hate crime rather than justified.”

“Your Honor,” Soonyoung says in a serious tone, mocking a court setting. “She had my car towed because I’m a big gay! The biggest gay on the planet! Did I mention that I’m married to a man? I would like $2,000 to take back to my gay husband.”

“We could use that money,” Jihoon laughs, fishing his keys from his pocket. “Our washer keeps making that weird noise.”

“You mean that one that sounds like a dying bird?”

“Exactly!”

Quietly, Jihoon unlocks the door, while Soonyoung busies himself by wrapping his arms around Jihoon’s waist. One who didn’t know them might say it was a loving gesture.

It was definitely a loving gesture. 

There’s no pretending anymore. 

They weren’t just friends anymore. 

And, frankly, Jihoon has no fucking clue what they’re wandering into. 

It could either be the best thing to happen to them or the worst. 

He has no clue what he would do if Soonyoung could no longer be in his life, because this weird experimental thing between them became fucked and twisted.

“I’m gonna go shower,” Jihoon says quickly, tearing from Soonyoung’s embrace as soon as the apartment door opened. “I’ll join you in a minute.”

With that, Soonyoung frowns as he heads for the bedroom 

 

******

 

About 15 minutes later, Soonyoung (who was settled comfortably into Jihoon’s bed) hears the shower turn off. Silently, he lays in bed, scrolling through his timeline as he tries to distract himself from thoughts of a  _ wet, naked Jihoon _ . 

It’s ridiculous.

Of course, he’s always been attracted to Jihoon, but he’s never been _this_ consumed by the thought of his husband. 

_ Husband, _ Soonyoung thinks.  _ I’m fucked _ .

After what feels like forever, the bathroom door opens across, releasing humid air and glaring yellow light into the otherwise dry and dark apartment. 

Then, the light is off again. 

Soonyoung hears some footsteps pad across the apartment floor. Soon, Jihoon is standing with his arms crossed over his chest in the doorway of his bedroom. 

The first thing Soonyoung notices is his old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirt which was already too big for him, but on Jihoon, it seems twice as large. He’s also wearing Soonyoung’s plaid pajama pants.

It’s not uncommon for them to share clothes, so Soonyoung really shouldn’t be gaping at Jihoon like this. 

Soonyoung swallows thickly, and he can hear his heartbeat in his ears.

“Are you wearing those because they were lying around in the bathroom?” Soonyoung wonders out loud, turning his phone face down on the bedside table. “Or, are you trying to do something to me?”

“Little bit of both?” Jihoon answers with uncertainty, slowly climbing into his side of the bed. 

After Jihoon turns out the lamp, there’s no more talking. 

Rather, they silently lay on their sides far away from each other on the bed, not daring to initiate anything intimate. 

Normally, when they sleep in the same bed, Soonyoung can’t restrain himself from draping himself all over Jihoon. Naturally, he’s a cuddler, and Jihoon just happens to be naturally cuddly. 

But, he’s keeping his distance. 

If it were  _ anybody else _ , he wouldn’t hesitate to let his hands wander anywhere they want to.

But, it’s  _ Jihoon _ .

So, he keeps his distance.

A couple minutes pass.

Jihoon starts inching closer, feeling the void of where Soonyoung’s warmth would usually be. He can’t believe the guy could have the guts to kiss him not an hour ago, and now he won’t even touch him. 

It’s driving Jihoon crazy. 

So, he scoots as closely as possible, feeling as brave as he ever has in his life. Soonyoung doesn’t say anything and doesn’t try to move away. Rather, he just watches as Jihoon’s face grows closer to his. 

Jihoon’s lips touch his softly and fleetingly.

Even though he fully expected it, the sensation doesn’t cease to shock him. 

As Soonyoung allows Jihoon to deepen the kiss, he tangles his fingers into the material of Jihoon’s sleep shirt. Their feverish kissing causes things to heat up quickly. 

It’s exactly the kind of teenage make-outs Soonyoung wanted to experience in high school. 

Better later than never. 

There’s really nothing gentle about the kiss. It’s bruising and rushed. Occasionally, Jihoon’s rough kisses will travel to his neck. Somehow, Soonyoung should’ve expected Jihoon would be this aggressive in an intimate setting. 

It’s characteristic.

The making out aspect is fine… until Jihoon’s hands begin wandering too far. 

This whole time, Soonyoung has noticed how they keep traveling downward from his neck to his chest to his waist to his hips and now… to his crotch. 

As soon as he feels Jihoon’s fingertips graze the inseam of his thighs, he lets out a loud nervous squeak. He can’t control it. It feels like _so much_ at once. 

So, in reaction, he breaks away from Jihoon – who had previously latched his lips to Soonyoung’s neck -- and flips over onto his other side, facing away from Jihoon.

“Goodnight, Jihoonie,” he rushes, immediately pretending to be asleep.

“Goodnight, I guess,” Jihoon replies in a concerned voice.

Now, they both keep their distance. 

 

******

 

The next morning, Soonyoung wastes no time going to the one person who can really help him.

“Choi Seungcheol!” Soonyoung calls out as he rushes into the Student Help Center. “I fucked up bad.”

“Do neither of you realize that I am  _ employed _ ?” Seungcheol immediately snaps in response, though he expected Soonyoung to come to bother him at some point or another. “I do have a job!”

“You’ve been looking at pictures of pigs in funny hats for 15 minutes,” Jeonghan points out, clearly unbothered by the glare he gets in response. 

“Spill it,” Seungcheol sighs loudly. “Jeonghan’s just  _ dying  _ for tea.”

“Damn right,” the other retorts, setting his phone face down on the desk. 

With both of their attentions, Soonyoung sucks in a deep breathe. He didn’t intend to involve Jeonghan, but he doesn’t have much of a choice. 

“Jihoon and I kissed last night,” he confesses quietly, glancing between the two to gauge their reactions. “And… we almost had sex.” 

Jeonghan looks gleeful, while Seungcheol looks wholly unshocked. 

“Finally,” the latter huffs, rolling his eyes. “So, are you two together now or what? I really don’t think I can stand another week of this ‘will they? won’t they?’ shit.” 

“Not exactly,” Soonyoung mutters, face heating up as he remembers last night. 

“Just how bad did you fuck up?” Seungcheol interrogates with his eyes squinted. The fact that Soonyoung is squirming under his gaze can’t mean anything good. 

“Could you not get it up?” Jeonghan whispers as if this was some huge scandal. 

“No!” Soonyoung interjects, grimacing clearly in Jeonghan’s direction. He sighs heavily. “Here’s how the story goes: Jihoon and I are in bed making out-.”

“Gross. Please continue,” Seungcheol interrupts. 

Soonyoung rolls his eyes. It’s even more humiliating to describe than it was to experience it. 

“Suddenly, his hand starts touching… places.”

“Did Jihoon touch your dick?” Jeonghan asks fervently. “Because if so, Seungkwan owes me $20. I  _ told  _ him it was going to happen before you two graduated.” 

Soonyoung averts his gaze. 

“Not exactly….”

“Shut up, Jeonghan,” Seungcheol barks, turning back to Soonyoung. “What’d you do?"

As he relives the moment in his head, Soonyoung wants to bash his head into a wall. He had a chance to have sex with the object of  _ all  _ his fantasies, yet, instead, he did the most stupid thing he could possibly do. 

“I let out a weird inhuman noise, rolled over, and said ‘goodnight,’” Soonyoung utters, feeling like the dumbest fucker on the planet. 

It’s slightly for a moment, but not for long. 

As expected, Jeonghan lets out a sputtering and howling laugh, and Seungcheol just gapes at him as if he’s grown a second head. 

“You really make life more difficult for you than it needs to be, don’t you?” the latter questions, trying to get a grip on the situation. 

Soonyoung lets out a loud groan.    


“I don’t know what to do, hyung!” he shouts in frustration. “Sex seems  _ too sudden _ . I wouldn’t mind it if we were actual dating, but I don’t want Jihoon to write it off as an ‘experiment.’”

“I think you just need to tell him you have actual romantic feelings for him and want to date him,” Seungcheol advises. “You know as well as I do that Jihoon isn’t gonna get it unless you spell it out for him.”

It’s silent for a moment. 

“I guess,” Soonyoung resigns. “Thanks, hyung.”

After he leaves the Student Help Center, Jeonghan finally speaks again

“$30 bucks it takes them another 2 months to actually get together.”

“You’re on.”

 


	6. Is That What I Think It Is?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!! School's been rough homies. There's a little bit of angst in this chapter, but worry not! It all works itself out. Feel free to leave comments and kudos, because the support helps me continue to write.

Throughout Jihoon’s morning classes, all he can think about is the night before. The kiss. The flirting. The touching. 

Jihoon wants to forget it ever even happen –  wants to forget that he put himself out there, but Soonyoung rejected him. 

So, the next morning, he slinks out of the apartment without saying a single word to Soonyoung. In fact, on his walk to class, he devised a plan to never speak of it again. 

It was a stupid idea really… to think he and Soonyoung could ever be more than “best buds.”

If that’s what Soonyoung wants, then that’s what he’ll get.

Instead of focusing on the lecture in Korean, Jihoon is absorbed by how expensive a divorce might be for both of them. 

But, it’s probably for the best. 

This was all one big scam anyway. And, the worst part was that it was Jihoon’s idea. 

He wants to beat his head against the desk, but he’s sure Dr. Choi would not appreciate that sort of outburst when she’s going over verb conjugations. So, Jihoon tries to distract himself instead. 

His mind wanders to how he didn’t even need to be in this class, because he was already semi-fluent in Korean. At the time, it seemed like an easy credit. 

Then, in an act of betrayal, his mind wanders to meeting Soonyoung’s family for the first time. They only spoke Korean at home, and Jihoon was very lost the first couple of times. He kept struggling to try to remember phrases he had heard his grandparents speak before. 

At least, neither of them will have to confess their marriage to their parents. 

Maybe, it would be better if they silently separated and tried to go back to the way things were before. 

“Remember class!” Dr. Choi shouts, signaling the end of class and raising Jihoon from his stupor. “We don’t have class next Monday! Use that time to study for next Wednesday’s exam! Last exam results were far too disappointing.”

There’s a collective groan from the class, but Jihoon doesn’t have anything to fret over. This was a beginner’s Korean class, and he was, in fact, Korean. 

Even though he can’t stop thinking about Soonyoung, life continues on. Jihoon walks to his 11 a.m. class, and in the busy areas, his peers are chatting animatedly. It’s a normal day, but in Jihoon’s head, it’s anything but normal. 

It’s somewhat painful, but Jihoon doesn’t want to think about why that is. 

So, he shoves that feeling deep down into his chest, where it can manifest and probably eat him. 

When he walks into his speech class, he sees his usual empty chair next to Vernon and Seungkwan. Right now, he really wants to sit alone, but he’s really trying to go with this “acting normal” thing. 

Instead of crawling to the deserted corner of the room, he approaches his usual seat. Both of his friends look up from their conversation to greet him. 

“Hey, Jihoon-hyung!” Seungkwan says in a squeaky voice. Jihoon immediately notices something’s up. Seungkwan  _ never  _ calls him hyung. He once told Jihoon he “doesn’t feel the need to.” When Jihoon squints at him, Seungkwan starts sweating and sinks noticeably in his seat. 

“Hi, Seungkwan,” the other deadpans, trying to figure out what the two are up to. He turns his attention to Vernon who, granted, doesn’t look nervous like his friend, but he looks very awkward… like they were just talking about him. “Hi, Vernon… What are you two talking about?”

They share a few nervous glances. 

“Jeonghan told us about you and Soonyoung,” Vernon admits, and Jihoon really does appreciate his honesty. But, he doesn’t appreciate feeling like a joke. 

There’s a heavy pause between them. 

“I see,” Jihoon finally breathes out, trying to keep the venom out of his voice. It’s not their fault Soonyoung couldn’t keep his mouth shut. “Well, I guess I’m gonna go sit over there today, since both of you are too busy talking about me behind my back.”

“Hyung!” Vernon calls out as Jihoon walks away. It’s sincere when it’s from Vernon. The kid has always been really respectful, so Jihoon is pretty hurt he would participate in this mass-mocking of him. 

With that, he slinks away to the abandoned corner. 

 

******

 

At lunch, he goes to the dining hall, despite the voice in his head telling him not to. 

He just  _ knows  _ Soonyoung is going to be there with Seungcheol and Jeonghan… probably laughing about him. 

_ How could Jihoon possibly think there was anything more than friendship between them? _

He can’t afford to eat anywhere else, yet he can’t afford  _ not to eat _ , because he has another late night shift tonight. 

Miserably, he stands in line to get some chicken nuggets. He’s about to head for the exit, when he notices the trio sitting at a table right next to the door. 

It’s like the universe hates him. 

The three of them are talking amongst themselves. Seungcheol and Jeonghan laugh at something Soonyoung says. 

Before last night, Jihoon would’ve been dying to hear the joke, but now he’s pretty sure he  _ is the joke.  _ In one night, 6 years of friendship suddenly amounted to nothing. 

Now, he understands why characters in TV shows are so cautious about developing feelings for their best friend. 

It’s like a tidal wave came in and swept away 6 years of memories. 

All Jihoon can think of is last night. 

He probably won’t make it out unscathed, but he’s dying to eat these chicken nuggets alone on the pavement. So, he pulls his hat down in a pathetic attempt to hide his face. 

He walks towards the door with his heart pounding. 

He really doesn’t want to make eye contact with Soonyoung, because all that’s going through his mind is the kiss. Undoubtedly, Soonyoung would be able to notice it on his face. 

“Jihoon?” Soonyoung asks in a confused voice, as Jihoon is directly next to their table. 

For a moment, Jihoon stops in his tracks. 

“Where are you going?” he questions, and if Jihoon was able to look him in the right now, he’d be able to see the concern glimmering in his gaze. 

“I’ve got a-a-a..” Jihoon stumbles around for a good excuse. In a squeaky voice, he manages to find one. “I’ve got a lab to work on! Unfortunately, I can’t sit down and eat! See you later.”

Immediately, Jihoon exits through the door in front of him without any further words. 

It’s silent among the three of them for a moment. 

“Oh boy,” Jeonghan mutters, pushing his pasta around on his plate. “That’s rough, buddy.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jihoon avoid you before,” Seungcheol claims, still worryingly staring at the door. 

“Yeah,” Jeonghan agrees. “Usually by now, he’s letting you crawl all over him.”

Soonyoung opens his mouth to retort, but Jeonghan beat him to it. 

“Don’t rub salt in his wounds, Jesus!” he scolds, glaring at the other. “This problem may not have as simple of a solution as I originally thought.”

“Do you think they’ll get a divorce?” Jeonghan instantly shoots back, unaffected by Seungcheol’s reprimanding. 

“I’m right here!” Soonyoung bursts out, catching the attention from a few tables around them. He instantly deflates, then mutters under his breath, “Oh my god. What am I going to fucking do?”

 

*****

 

It goes on like that for a couple of days. Jihoon rarely comes home, and when he does, he shuts himself inside his room until Soonyoung leaves for school or work. 

Soonyoung knows this because he notices the trash getting a little more full each time he comes back. 

As for not being home often, Soonyoung isn’t sure where Jihoon is going other than work or school. It’s possible he’s convinced Wonwoo and Mingyu to let him sleep on their couch. 

At this rate, Soonyoung’s going to come home to Jihoon’s vacated room and divorce papers. 

He just doesn’t understand how he fucked up this badly. 

Not only does he have a possible romantic partner, but he also doesn’t seem to have a best friend anymore. 

Soonyoung almost doesn’t want to go to work, so he can corner Jihoon and they can talk this out. 

He can live with not being  _ with  _ Jihoon, but he can’t live without his best friend. 

But, rent still needs to be paid, so Soonyoung goes to another day of work. 

 

*****

 

As he sulks around the deserted coffee shop, he thinks of Jihoon. 

“You can go early,” the owner tells him two hours before closing. “With that block party going on down the road, I doubt there are going to be any customers tonight.”

Instantly, Soonyoung perks up. This was just what he needed!  If he goes home early and catches Jihoon outside of his room, he can talk to him and clear the air. 

“Thank you so much!” Soonyoung shouts joyfully, practically running out of the shop with his hoodie in his arms. 

 

****

 

When he gets to his doorstep, he hears music coming from the apartment. It sounds like the Super Mario theme. 

There’s a little “wahoo” sound. 

Jihoon’s definitely playing Super Mario 64 in there. 

Now is Soonyoung’s chance to redeem himself.

When Jihoon hears the lock, he jumps slightly in his seat, prepared to completely discard his controller and run back into his room. 

Before he can do that, Soonyoung slams open the door and rushes in, barely kicking the door closed behind him. 

“Jihoon!” he calls in desperation, as he walks into the living room. Now, he’s standing right beside Jihoon. He can’t really avoid Soonyoung anymore. If he runs to his room, Soonyoung would probably have no qualms with blocking his way.

“What do you want, Soonyoung?” Jihoon demands coldly, returning to his game. He wants to seem unaffected. Both of them know it’s not working very well. 

“I want to know why you’re avoiding me,” Soonyoung responds, walking in front of the TV to block Jihoon’s view. 

“Why don’t you ask Jeonghan?” Jihoon deadpans, glaring up at Soonyoung. He can’t believe he used to consider this man his best friend. 

“What the fuck are you talking about?!”

“I know you told Jeonghan about how you rejected me!” Jihoon retorts, struggling to keep his voice down. He’s sure they’re going to get a noise complaint from Mrs. O’Brien, but frankly, he doesn’t give a fuck. “I get if you don’t want to fuck me, but you didn’t have to humiliate me like that.”

Soonyoung breathes out a heavy exhale. Of course, Jeonghan couldn’t keep his mouth shut. That is the last time he goes to the Student Help Center. 

“You don’t get it,” Soonyoung says lowly. “If you’d just let me explain, – .”

“What is there to explain?” Jihoon interrupts. “You aren’t actually attracted to me. I’d be okay with that, if you wouldn’t go blabbing about it to other people. I thought you were supposed to be my best friend.”

“I am!” Soonyoung defends himself, but it’s ultimately useless. Jihoon is peering around him at the screen and has continued his game. Growing annoyed, Soonyoung reaches for the controller. “Give me that! You’re acting childish!”

They argue as they fight for the controller. It starts getting pretty physical quickly. Soonyoung’s wrestled things out of Jihoon’s hands before, but never like this. 

In an instant, Soonyoung collapses on his back on the floor, pulling Jihoon on top of him. All of a sudden the bickering stops, as they both notice the position they’re in. Jihoon is sitting firmly on top of Soonyoung lap’s, straddling him. 

Both of them are violently red. 

Then, Jihoon notices something pressing against him. 

“Soonyoung, is that-?”

“Yeah.”

It’s awkwardly silent for a few more moments.

“I was never _not_ attracted to you, Hoonie,” Soonyoung confesses, keeping his body very still so as to not make any wrong moves. “I was just super fucking nervous, because I’ve had a huge crush on you since middle school.”

“Then, why’d you tell Jeonghan?” Jihoon interrogates, keeping his body very still as well. 

“I went to Seungcheol for advice, and Jeonghan just happened to be there,” he answers. “I didn’t expect him to go telling other people about it.”

It’s so quiet. There’s only the sound of their hearts beating and their exhausted breathing. 

“What now?” Jihoon asks, placing his hands on Soonyoung’s chest for stability. 

In return, Soonyoung places his hands on Jihoon’s hips. 

“We could try again,” Soonyoung utters, glancing at Jihoon’s lips. 

“Promise you won’t freak out when I try to touch your dick?” the other asks, leaning in closer. 

“I will personally kick my own ass if I do,” Soonyoung huffs a little laugh. 

For the first time in days, Jihoon smiles at him, and Soonyoung’s heart flutters in his chest. 

He’s really  _ really  _ missed Jihoon’s smile. 

Finally, Jihoon leans in and kisses him. It’s very gentle, and much less rushed than last time. If he’s being honest, he’s missed Jihoon’s lips too. 

Jihoon breaks the kiss and stares into the other’s eyes. 

“I really like you a lot, Soonyoung,” he whispers as if it’s something for just Soonyoung to know. 

For the past 6 years, Soonyoung has been waiting for those words.

He thinks his heart might beat out of his chest. 

 


	7. Nice Hickies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have two words for you heathens, TOP JIHOON!!!! anyway, i don't usually write a lot of smut, because it's tiring but i felt that the people deserved this. please enjoy and leave comments/kudos!!

They cease their kissing momentarily, and Jihoon places the palms of his hands on Soonyoung’s chest to stabilize himself. He just stares at the other and takes the moment in for a minute.

Jihoon’s game of Super Mario 64 remains ignored. Other than the pause screen music, the only sounds in the apartment are their heavy breathing.

Soonyoung eyes glance at the screen, then he starts giggling.

“What’s so funny?” Jihoon demands, squinting his eyes at the other in mock scolding.

Instead of immediately answering, Soonyoung just tilts his head back and grins. 

“It’s just that…” Soonyoung begins after a bit. “Mario’s fucking staring at us.”

When Jihoon cranes his neck to look behind him, he realizes Soonyoung is completely fucking right. 

The position Jihoon paused the game earlier caused Mario to be in complete eye contact with them. 

He’s not sure if he should be horrified or laughing his ass off.

Without any consultation, his brain immediately goes with the latter. Within a second, he’s clutching Soonyoung’s chest as he starts wheezing. Soonyoung’s laughing so hard as well that he looks like he might cry. 

After a couple minutes, their laughter dies down, but Jihoon looks at Mario again, and he can’t help himself. 

“Look at this pervert with his beady little eyes!” he howls, falling off of Soonyoung’s lap. “He was totally prepared for a free show.”

Soonyoung lifts himself off the ground and walks to the television.

“Show’s over, pervert,” he says as he turns it off. 

Now the only light in the apartment is the street lights shining through the window. It’s silent except for the humming of the fridge in the kitchen.

“Soooo…” Soonyoung starts, nervously wiping his palms on his jeans. The movement of the fabric makes him realize he’s still hard. “Wanna move this to the cushioning of my bed instead of the cold, hard, and probably dirty floor?”

Jihoon isn’t sure what prompts him to say it, but he blurts out, “I’m also cold, hard, and dirty.”

Silence.

“What does that even mean?!” 

“I don’t know,” Jihoon mumbles, pulling himself off the ground. “I think I’m just nervous.”

“There’s no reason to be nervous. We’ve both had sex plenty of times before,” Soonyoung tries, but he knows  _ exactly  _ what Jihoon is talking about.

“You know that’s not what I mean, Soonyoung,” Jihoon sighs, approaching Soonyoung. He grabs the other’s hands in his. “I could’ve had sex with a million people, and I would still never be completely prepared for this.”

“I’d still like you even if you did,” Soonyoung mentions, inching closer to the other’s face. “Have sex with a million people, I mean.”

“I appreciate the sentiment,” Jihoon utters lowly with half-lidded. In a trance-like state, he begins moving his face closer as well. 

Finally, Soonyoung’s lips graze Jihoon’s lightly. But, it doesn’t take long for Jihoon to deepen the kiss. Without realizing it, Jihoon’s begins using his body strength to push Soonyoung against the wall. 

Soonyoung’s thighs spread just enough for Jihoon to slot his leg in between them. 

Jihoon can feel Soonyoung’s dick pressing against him.

“How are you already this excited?” Jihoon murmurs in the other’s ear then begins trailing kisses down his neck.

“6 years of fantasies and wet dreams will do that to you,” Soonyoung answers, whimpering on the last word when Jihoon begins sucking at his collarbone.

“Is this living up to your wet dreams?” he asks, grinding his clothed cock against the other’s.

Soonyoung sucks in a deep breath. 

“I can’t believe you even have to ask that,” he whimpers, tipping his head so the other has easier access to his neck. 

Without second thought, Jihoon takes the offer, creating a bruise right over the other’s pulse. In response, Soonyoung’s breath hitches and his toes curl in his sneakers. 

He can’t believe how many clothing he’s wearing right now. The hands gripping the back of Jihoon’s shirt are inching to yank  _ something  _ off. 

But, instead of following that urge, his hands just knot even tighter as Jihoon’s hands starting caress from his waist to his hips, until a hand is wandering to the inseam of his thighs. 

His cock immediately twitches in response. 

“Are you sure this okay?” Jihoon whispers in Soonyoung’s ear. The hot breath against his skin causes Soonyoung’s knees to quake and stomach to knot. “There are only so many awkward experiences I can handle within the span of a week.”

Soonyoung tries to answer, but his voice is caught in his throat. He vigorously nods his head instead. 

“Alright, then,” Jihoon says and smirks in satisfaction. 

Soonyoung wants to say something snarky in response, but all his thoughts are lost when Jihoon’s fingers graze against his clothed cock. Unable to contain himself, he begins grinding into the palm of the other’s hand. 

All the while, Jihoon’s drinking it up. In all their years of knowing each other, he could’ve never imagined handsome and funny Soonyoung quite literally in the palm of his hand. It’s a feeling he could definitely get drunk off. 

“Fuck, Ji,” Soonyoung growls. Suddenly, thoughts pop into his head. Thoughts he’s secretly had for years. Thoughts of Jihoon fucking him. Thoughts of him fucking Jihoon. Just thoughts of them together in every way possible. The possibilities were endless. His cock twitches in Jihoon’s hand. Jihoon thinks he might be leaking precum in his own jeans. “I think I might cum in my pants.”

“Already?” Jihoon murmurs in the other’s ear, pushing him closer to the edge. He leans in really close and nibbles at his ear. “Shouldn’t you ask me first?”

“I _don’t_ want to cum in my pants in the hallway, Jihoon,” Soonyoung huffs impatiently in a whiny voice. He can feel Jihoon’s cock twitch against his thigh. “Can we move this to the bedroom?”

“Ask me nicely,” Jihoon responds in a calm voice, but Soonyoung can  _ feel _ him rubbing against his thigh. Jihoon is just as impatient as he is. 

Soonyoung rolls his eyes, then Jihoon starts pressing more of his body weight against him. For such a little guy, he’s so strong. Soonyoung can only imagine what that strength can do. 

“Please, Hoonie,” Soonyoung pleads, feeling the mess of precum in his underwear. He knows the way Jihoon’s mind works. The only way he’s going to get what he wants is if he starts talking obscenely. “I want to cum with you inside me.”

In a second, the other is assert less pressure against his body. He watches as Jihoon’s eyes screw shut, and he exhales heavily through his nose. Soonyoung’s got him exactly where he wants him. 

“I want you so bad,” he mutters, letting his hands wander to Jihoon’s cock. “I want to touch you and taste you.”

“Bedroom, now,” Jihoon groans, taking his weight off of Soonyoung’s body. 

He didn’t even have to tell him. Soonyoung immediately takes off with Jihoon in tow. The entire walk down the hall Jihoon is staring at Soonyoung’s ass. He imagines that ass could work wonders. Soonyoung used to take dance classes in high school, and Jihoon would be lying if he said he didn’t notice how flexible the other was… or how round and firm his ass was. 

Then, the situation hits him like a pile of bricks. 

He’s going to be  _ inside _ that ass.

In all his years with all the partners he’s had, he’s never been  _ this  _ turned on before. 

Once they reach Soonyoung’s bedroom, Jihoon immediately kicks the door shut behind him and tears his shirt off. 

He notices Soonyoung staring at him in rapt attention.

“When did you get abs?” Soonyoung asks without thinking. He reaches out to graze his fingers against them. 

“There’s surprising a lot of heavy lifting at the diner,” Jihoon mutters sheepishly, blushing at the attention. 

The reaction is so cute that Soonyoung has to lean down and kiss the other. It’s an innocent kiss, until Jihoon sticks his tongue in Soonyoung’s mouth. 

After a minute, they break apart with a string of spit between them. 

“Shirt off,” Jihoon commands, and Soonyoung is following instructions immediately. 

Call him eager, but he’s so  _ desperate  _ to be fucked right now.

Jihoon stares at him as well in awestruck. Soonyoung has to admit he’s not the fittest he’s ever been. He hasn’t really had time to exercise much since starting university. But, Jihoon is drooling over him nonetheless… even with his love handles and soft stomach. 

At this moment, he’s never felt so good about having feelings for his best friend. 

He thought it was the proper time to show his appreciation. 

His hands start going for Jihoon’s belt, and Jihoon is clearly caught off guard. 

Before he can ask any questions, Soonyoung is popping the button to his skinny jeans and pulling the zipper down. Jihoon only starts to catch on when Soonyoung sinks to his knees. 

His breath hitches. Without thinking about it, his fingers tangle in Soonyoung’s hair. 

Taking that as a signal to go on, Soonyoung takes Jihoon’s cock out of his underwear. It’s not very long, but it’s thick. He gives it a few strokes, causing Jihoon’s knees to nearly buckle. There’s so much precum already pooled at the slit. Soonyoung spreads it around with his thumb, until Jihoon’s pink head is shining. 

“Please don’t tease me, Kwon Soonyoung,” Jihoon begs, gripping Soonyoung’s hair lightly. It’s not nearly the amount of strength Soonyoung knows Jihoon is capable of. 

Not wanting to drag it out, Soonyoung wraps his wet, pink lips around the head of Jihoon’s head and licks at it with his tongue. When he notices Jihoon’s thighs shaking, he decides to sink lower, taking all of Jihoon in his mouth. His head hits the back of Soonyoung’s throat, and Jihoon groans lowly. 

Soonyoung looks up to watch Jihoon come apart under his touch. The other’s head is tipped back, and his eyes are screwed shut. Soonyoung’s pretty sure he’s using all his restraint not to fuck his mouth. 

So, Soonyoung rewards him by sucking until his cheeks are hollowed, then moving his mouth up and down on his cock. 

His own cock is straining against the fabric of his jeans as he watches Jihoon come undone.

“Soonyoung… Baby…” Jihoon moans in a tight voice. “Come back up here.”

Soonyoung releases Jihoon’s cock with a wet pop.

“And, why should I?” he asks in a bratty voice.

“Because, I  _ really  _ want to fuck your brains out,” Jihoon exhales, subconsciously tightening his grip on the other.

For a moment, Soonyoung just stares at Jihoon, watching him pant. The look in his eyes is almost animalistic, and Soonyoung can’t ignore it. 

Following Jihoon’s command, Soonyoung stands up. As soon as he’s upright, Jihoon’s hands come up to his chest. 

But, they don’t stay there long. 

With a good solid push, Soonyoung’s back collides with his bed. 

“Got any condoms?” Jihoon asks, looming over him as he climbs on to the bed. 

“I mean… I do, but…” Soonyoung mumbles, face growing red. “Do really even need one?”

In response, Jihoon is wide-eyed.

“I mean….” Soonyoung struggles to find the words. He’s never been this embarrassed with any of his other partners. “I’m clean, and I trust you enough to know you’re clean… Besides, that’s a big turn on for me.”

Jihoon blinks.

“But, we can use one if you really want to!” Soonyoung blurts, holding his hands up in defense. “I’m not trying to -.”

Before Soonyoung can finish his sentence, Jihoon is attacking his neck with kisses. 

“I’m  _ so _ okay with not using one,” Jihoon claims, pressing the heel of his hand against Soonyoung’s cock. He breaks away from the other’s neck for a minute. “But, I do  _ absolutely _ need to know where you keep your lube.”

“Bottom right drawer of my dresser,” Soonyoung moans. 

When Jihoon gets up and leaves him on the bed, Soonyoung immediately feels disappointed by the lack of touching between them. He takes this opportunity to do away with his pants and underwear. Inwardly, he breathes a sigh of relief that his cock was finally free, even if it was a little chilly in the room

Jihoon crouches and opens the drawer then sucks in a deep breath at what he sees. Along with a half-empty tube of lube, Soonyoung also has various sex toys poorly hidden under some white undershirts. Jihoon will have to remember this information for later. 

“I like your red vibrator,” he comments, pulling the lube out and shutting the drawer. “That’s my favorite color.”

“I know. That’s why I got it,” Soonyoung says without thinking. 

At that moment, Jihoon turns around, and his breathe audibly hitches from both the statement and the sight of a waiting  _ naked  _ Soonyoung.

He clears his throat, removing all the shock from his face. 

“You’ll have to let me see you use it some time,” he says lowly in a calm voice as he approaches Soonyoung’s spot on the bed. 

Soonyoung really doesn’t get how he even manages to be so collected at a time like this. Internally, Soonyoung is about to lose his mind, because every second of this situation is so surreal. It seems like a dream he might wake up from a second. 

Though when Jihoon crawls back on the bed and grips his thighs, he knows it’s not. This is 100% real. 

Jihoon bends Soonyoung’s legs back so his ass is exposed. Soonyoung watches as he snaps the cap off and pours a liberal amount on to his fingertips. 

“Let me know if it hurts.”

Before Soonyoung can even reply, Jihoon’s index finger is circling his asshole, spreading the lukewarm lube around the area. 

Then, Jihoon inserts his finger past the tight muscle, and Soonyoung sucks in a breath. The foreign pressure is slightly uncomfortable, but Soonyoung begins to adjust quickly as Jihoon pumps the finger in and out. 

“Are you ready for another one?” he asks after a moment. 

Soonyoung nods his head with his eyes shut and his head tilted back. 

With the confirmation, Jihoon puts a second finger in and begins scissoring. Soonyoung can feel Jihoon moving them around fervently, and he knows Jihoon is looking for something. 

His prostate. 

After a few minutes searching, he finds it. 

Soonyoung moans loudly and bucks his hips down onto the other’s fingers. Jihoon breaks out into a wide self-satisfied grin.

He rubs that spot again, causing Soonyoung to groan and grip at his comforter.

“You like that, baby?” Jihoon purrs, stroking his fingers vigorously against the spot. 

Soonyoung’s toes curl and his thighs shake. 

“When did you get so suave?” Soonyoung tries to saying sarcastically. It doesn’t sound as it was intended when he keeps moaning in between words. 

“I’ve always been like this,” Jihoon’s voice drips like honey. “You’ve just never had the pleasure of being fucked by me before.”

Soonyoung thinks of Jihoon’s previous partners seeing him like this. Hot jealousy swells up in his gut. 

“Promise me you’ll only act like this with me from now on,” Soonyoung whimpers, thighs curling around Jihoon’s body. 

“Of course, baby,” Jihoon replies without hesitation. “We are married after all.” 

Soonyoung feels he might cum soon… until Jihoon pulls his fingers out. 

He watches with hungry eyes as Jihoon looms over him and strokes his cock to spread the remaining lube. He grips the back of his thighs, holding them in open invitation. 

It’s an invitation Jihoon would never waste. 

Groaning, he lines the head of his cock with Soonyoung’s hole, and the bluntness of it makes the other want to beg for Jihoon to push it in. 

He just wants to be  _ filled _ .

Instead of having to ask, Jihoon begins to push in past the tight muscle. Soonyoung holds his breath.  He begins inching in his cock slowly, and Soonyoung suddenly notices how  _ thick _ Jihoon actually is. 

Compared to other men he’s had sex with before, Jihoon actually is a bit bigger than most. 

Soonyoung doesn’t mean to, but he expresses these thoughts out loud. 

Then, he feels Jihoon’s fully-seated cock  _ twitch  _ inside of him. He expects Jihoon to have some smug comment, but rather he’s completely quiet and completely focused. Slowly, he pulls his cock out, then thrusts it back in. 

Soonyoung reaches for his own cock in between them, but Jihoon pulls his hand away and pins it on in the bed. 

“If I’m so big, then you should have no problem just coming from my cock,” he groans, rocking his cock into Soonyoung. Usually, Soonyoung would pop his ego like a balloon, but he’s too turned on right now. 

“You’ll have to fuck me harder if you want that to happen.”

The moment he says it, Jihoon’s hips start bucking forth with twice the force from before. All of Jihoon’s weight is holding him down as he fucks deep into him. 

“Is that the fastest you can go?” Soonyoung teases, wanting to push Jihoon to his absolute limit. 

Suddenly, Jihoon begins snapping his hips against Soonyoung’s at rapid speed with the exact same force as before. The only sounds in the apartment are Soonyoung’s hiccuping moans and Jihoon’s balls slapping against his skin. 

Then, the head of Jihoon’s cock hit  _ that  _ spot. 

“Right there,” Soonyoung moans, wrapping his legs around Jihoon’s body. Gripping Soonyoung’s hips hard enough to bruise, Jihoon repeatedly bucks his hips  _ hard  _ against that spot. “I’m gonna cum.”

“Do it,” Jihoon commands, and how could Soonyoung say no to that?

A second later, his thighs are shaking as he feels himself splurting cum in between them. 

Not too long after, Jihoon follows, burying his cock to the hilt and releasing inside of Soonyoung. 

They stay like that for a moment, panting as they overcome the aftershocks. Then, Soonyoung releases his grip, and Jihoon pulls out. 

“That was…” Soonyoung breathes, his entire body feeling like jelly. 

“Amazing,” Jihoon finishes, flopping over on the bed beside him. “I can’t believe we weren’t doing that all the time in high school.”

“Yeah,” Soonyoung agrees. 

“Wanna shower with me?” Jihoon asks, still staring up at the ceiling. 

“Of course.”

 

*********

 

Nobody was sure when Jihoon and Soonyoung would make up. Nobody had ever seen them  _ actually  _ fight before. 

“I think we should do something,” Seungcheol suggests to Jeonghan as they wait in line to pay for their meals. “We should stop counting on them to figure it out for themselves. They’re both dense as fuck.”

“And lose 30 dollars to you?” the other scoffs incredulously, rolling his eyes. “Not on your life, Choi Seungcheol.”

Just as he’s about to scold Jeonghan, he notices something at their table. 

_ Jihoon and Soonyoung.  _

_ Sitting next to each other _

_ Holding hands.  _

“Oh, thank god,” Seungcheol breathes an audible sigh of relief as he approaches them with his trayful of chicken stir-fry. He was concerned his and Jeonghan’s intervening (or-lack-thereof) was going to drive the two apart for good. “You two are friends again!”

They both look caught off guard by their friend’s outburst. Instead of responding, they just stare at the others. It’s uncomfortably silent for a moment, excluding an awkward meek cough from Jihoon. 

When Seungcheol glances to the side, he notices Jeonghan peering intently at Soonyoung. Seungcheol isn’t sure what, but Jeonghan  _ knows  _ something observing the two. If only he knew what the other was thinking…

Soonyoung begins squirming under Jeonghan’s gaze. Seungcheol is pretty sure the other is sweating bullets.

“Something feels… different,” Jeonghan remarks, squinting at Soonyoung. Seungcheol is about to tell him to stop harassing them when Soonyoung interrupts. 

“Jihoon and I had sex!” He bursts out with wide eyes, instantly clapping his hands over his mouth after. 

“Soonyoung!” The other next to him chastises, though he looks more annoyed than angry.

“Holy fuck,” Seungcheol murmurs under his breath. “You gotta teach me how to do that, Jeonghan.”

Jeonghan waves him off. 

“Details,” Jeonghan demands, sitting down in his chair and intertwining his fingers together like a super-villain from a cartoon.

“That’s a little personal, don’t you think?” Jihoon snaps, crossing his arms over his chest and twisting his face into a grimace. Soonyoung glances at him. 

_ He’s even cute when he’s pissed off _ , the other thinks, looking starry-eyed enough for the others to know exactly what he’s thinking. 

“I have to agree with Jihoon on this one,” Seungcheol interjects, looking queasy. “There are some images you just can’t erase from your brain once they’re in there.”

“Not the actual sex!” Jeonghan hisses, narrowing his gaze at all of them. “What finally brought you idiots to your senses?”

Soonyoung cocks his head in confusion. 

“I think what Jeonghan is trying to say,” Seungcheol clarifies, “is that your attraction to each other was obvious to everybody but yourselves.”

It's silent for a moment.

“Uhhh… Well… we were fighting, and it sorta happened,” Soonyoung mumbles, trying to hide his blushing face. 

“Hate-sex,” Jeonghan says approvingly, nodding his head. “One of the best kinds of sex.”

“First of all, it was more like make-up sex,” Jihoon retorts snidely, glaring at Jeonghan. “Second of all, why did you have to go running your mouth to everybody about Soonyoung and me?!”

Jeonghan looks apologetic for a moment, but it doesn’t last long. “Would you two be together right now if I didn’t?” he questions with a mischievous face. “Be thankful for my intervention. Nice hickies by the way, Soonyoung.”

Both Soonyoung and Jihoon glance down, the way his t-shirt collar is settled, anybody can see the bruises on his collarbones. 

All of a sudden, Jihoon is steaming red and scolding Jeonghan to not disrespect his boyfriend like that. 

Soonyoung smiles. 

He likes the sound of that. 

_ Boyfriend _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jihoon and soonyoung turning from awkward nerdy teenagers to horny fucks represents the duality in man. In this essay, I will..


	8. Adoration in the Disaster Pie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm very grateful to everyone who has been supporting this fic! it's been a long journey, but it's reaching it's climax i swear. please remember to leave comments and kudos because theyre all i want for christmas this year

Their relationship isn’t entirely different from what it was before. Besides what they do in the privacy of their room at night, there was only just a little bit more added affections… like somebody sprinkled a little bit of mutual adoration in the middle of their disaster pie of a friendship.

Other than that, they were almost the same as they’ve always been. It was messing with Jihoon’s head, because the friendship and intimacy shouldn’t just perfectly melt together like this. Yet… it does. 

On Thursday night, they walk down the aisles of the grocery store, completing their weekly shopping trip for the week. Soonyoung’s hand is over Jihoon’s on the bar of the cart as he pushes it along. 

Adoration in the disaster pie.

As they stroll along, Jihoon stares at Soonyoung’s fake wedding band, not paying any attention. He runs straight into the cardboard display of Super-Duper Absorbent Dish Towels™ which are definitely a hoax. Once, Jihoon tried to use them to clean spilled beer off of Soonyoung’s shirt in high school. 

It did nothing but leave a big stain for the latter’s mother to see the next morning.

But, that’s not important right now. 

Because, Jihoon is being cascaded with these cheaply made towels as they come tumbling off their display and on to the floor. 

Immediately, Soonyoung crouches to the ground to pick them up. 

“I know I’m beautiful to look at, but you should really pay attention, Ji,” Soonyoung teases with a shit-eating grin. 

It’s actually… endearing. 

Adoration in the disaster pie.

Jihoon sticks out his tongue. “I would only look at your face, because it’s… stupid!” he retorts childishly, giving his boyfriend the middle finger. 

“Maybe later,” Soonyoung jokes, pointing his at Jihoon’s rude gesture. It causes Jihoon to immediately blush and stuff his hands in his hoodie pockets. “Anyway, I need to go get toilet paper. I’ll be back, gremlin.”

Then, Soonyoung walks away, leaving Jihoon a steaming mess in the middle of the snack aisle.

Jihoon knows he wasn’t really getting toilet paper by the nefarious little snicker he let out when he thought Jihoon wasn’t paying attention. Knowing Soonyoung, he was probably going to get Cocoa Puffs even though Jihoon told him not to. 

It wasn’t that he cared terribly about Soonyoung’s diet. Rather, to preserve his sanity, Jihoon tries to keep Soonyoung from eating lots of sugar. Because, if he has to listen to one more conspiracy theory, Jihoon is going to lock Soonyoung out of the apartment. At this point, Jihoon could word for word tell you why the CIA is probably behind the JFK assassination. 

After picking out some Goldfish (because he knows they’re Soonyoung’s favorite), Jihoon moves to the canned goods section one aisle over.

To his ultimate disappointment, Jihoon realizes the Chef Boyardee he needs is on the very top shelf. 

“Fuck,” he mutters under his breath, already considering whether ravioli is worth the public humiliation of struggling on his tippy toes to reach. 

It is. It totally is. 

So, he looks down the aisle to make sure nobody has decided they suddenly want canned peas. When he determines the aisle is completely clear, he reaches up towards the shelf by standing on his toes. By the cool breeze on his waist, Jihoon knows his shirt has ridden up. Now, he’s embarrassed and showing skin!

To make matters worse, he can’t even reach the actual can. He can barely reach the shelf the can sits on, but not the actual can. Walmart is an evil corporation created by selfish tall bastards, and Jihoon’s gonna sue as soon as he gets his ravioli. 

Just when Jihoon’s about to give up and settle for the generic brand on the shelf below, he feels a steady hand on his lower back and sees a hand out of the corner of his eye reaching for the same can. For a moment, he thinks it might be Soonyoung, so he turns to scold the other for even thinking about helping him. 

But, it’s not Soonyoung. It’s somebody else completely – some dude from his college algebra class. 

Kevin? Kenneth? Kyle?

Jihoon can’t remember his actual name. The only thing Jihoon actually knows about the guy is that he has been flirting with Jihoon since he lent the other notes once. 

Something about Jihoon must just scream gay! While, something about this guy just screams thirsty!

So, Jihoon’s attention immediately turns to the hand on his lower back, rather than the can of ravioli he’s been struggling for. At the quirk of Jihoon’s eyebrows in the direction of the offending hand, the guy immediately removes it. But, that doesn’t deter him. 

“Here you go,” he says, smiling at Jihoon and holding out the can. 

“Uhhhhh,” Jihoon responds dumbly, still thinking about the fact this guy put his hand on Jihoon’s lower back of all places. With uncertainty, he takes the can from the other’s hand. “Thanks. I guess.”

From the corner of his eye, he can see Soonyoung approaching with a box of Cocoa Puffs in hand. 

I knew it, Jihoon thinks.

The other greets Jihoon by slinging his arm around Jihoon’s shoulder. It’s certainly not abnormal for them in terms of touching, but something about it feels different to Jihoon. If Jihoon didn’t know any better, he might say the action is laced with jealousy. 

“Hey, babe,” Soonyoung says as Jihoon deposits the can into his basket. Soonyoung puts his Cocoa Puffs in there as well.

A little old lady walking past gazing down the aisle, looking conflicted. When Jihoon makes eye contact with her, she continues walking to the next aisle. Even, she could sense the tension in the air. 

The same couldn’t be said of Kendall(?). Any other decent human would just walk away from this clearly uncomfortable and awkward situation, but Kale(?) isn’t any other decent human. 

He focuses his laser vision on Soonyoung’s arm wrapped around Jihoon’s shoulder, offering a sickly-sweet smile. 

“You never mentioned a boyfriend, Jihoon,” Kelvin(?) says in mock delight. 

Soonyoung glares at him.

Jihoon thinks he might’ve seen something like this in an Animal Planet documentary. 

“Actually,” Soonyoung spits back in the same delightful voice, grinning wide enough for his cheeks to split at any moment. “I’m his husband.”

“Oh, really?!” Kayden(?) exclaims in fake shock. “Congratulations! I always thought the ring was just for style… since it looks so cheap”

“I may have spent 35 dollars on it at a pawn shop, but it’s definitely real, buddy,” Soonyoung smiles, moving his left arm so he’s brandishing his own copper ring. “Besides, it’s made of titanium, so it’s virtually indestructible… like our love.”

Kameron(?) gives a bitter smile in response. 

“Well, best of luck to you two,” he remarks in a condescending tone. “I know how hard it is for young people to stay together nowadays.”

After he walks away, Soonyoung immediately drops his arm from Jihoon’s shoulder, exhaling in relief. 

“What was that about?” Jihoon quirks his eyebrow up, almost about to laugh. He knows from past experiences that jealousy isn’t an attractive quality in people, but it’s different with Soonyoung. In fact, it’s a little cute. 

It reminds him of when they were in middle school, and Soonyoung would get cranky because someone would steal the last slice of pepperoni pizza at birthday parties.

Now, Jihoon is that slice of pepperoni pizza. 

Adoration in the disaster pie.

“I don’t know,” Soonyoung answers, rubbing his face in exhaustion. “I’m sorry. I just…” He sighs. “I saw him touching you (unwarranted), and my brain immediately went full Terminator mode.”

“I’m not mad,” the other clarifies, grabbing his boyfriend’s hand. “I’m just kind of in shock, I guess? I never thought of you as the jealous type.”

“I’m usually not,” Soonyoung intertwines their fingers. “Then again, I’ve always wanted this, so maybe? Deep down? I’m afraid of it slipping through my fingers.”

“Do you really think I would ever leave you for that dude?” he scoffs incredulously, yet grinning dumbly. “I don’t even remember his actual name. It could be Kashmire for all I know.”

“I guess the thought was dumb,” Soonyoung mumbles sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. 

“It was one of your dumbest thoughts ever,” the other deadpans. “And, I’ve seen you stick an egg in the microwave in 8th grade, because you wanted to see what would happen!”

Soonyoung just nods in agreement. 

They both turn to stare at the pitiful, lonely, singular can of Chef Boyardee all by itself in their cart. 

“Want more of those?” Soonyoung asks.

“Most definitely,” Jihoon immediately answers. “Get 4 more. There’s a sale of 5 for 5 dollars.”

Quietly, Soonyoung complies, reaching up to collect more cans from the top shelf. 

His ring glints in the store’s cheap fluorescent lightly.

Jihoon smiles to himself in satisfaction, a warm feeling welling up in his chest.

******

So far, they’ve made it to December without tearing each other’s heads off. It shouldn’t surprise Soonyoung, but it does. 

He’s heard almost every narrative of the dynamics of friendship changing after a relationship, but he’s so accustomed to everything about Jihoon that nothing the other does could ever possibly bother him. 

Sure, he’s a cranky, rude goblin sometimes, but Soonyoung has no issue with that. There’s an easy solution to that. Food and video-games. 

“Are you sure it’s not just the honeymoon phase?” Seungcheol asks him as they look around the mall for Christmas gifts. Jihoon is currently out studying with Seungkwan, so the other has no issue with prodding Soonyoung about his love-life. 

“As I’ve told you ten times before,” Soonyoung sighs, peering around his friend to look into the Gamestop. “I’m positive.”

“I mean…” Seungcheol interjects. “I’ve seen him laughing so hard he was crying because you once fell down in the parking lot. You two have to fight about something about something at some point. Nobody could have a relationship this easy.”

“I think it’s the sex,” Jeonghan interjects, pursing his lips and twirling his coffee cup around in his hand as if he’s in deep thought. 

Instantly, Soonyoung goes a deep shade of pink. 

“Why is everything about sex with you?!” he demands, hiding his face from the passing mean-looking teenagers who are squinting at him. For god’s sake, he’s a goddamn adult!

“Why is everything about sex with you?” Jeonghan shoots back, turning into a store to signal they should all go in as well. Soonyoung looks up at the sign and realizes it’s Spencer’s. The previously-dull headache he has becomes more stabbing every second. 

“What does that even mean?” Soonyoung hisses, tugging on Seungcheol’s sleeve for some assistance. In response, Seungcheol just shoots him an “I’m sorry, buddy” look. 

“My sources tell me you and Jihoon have been having sex every single night of the week for the past two weeks,” Jeonghan claims, stopping to look at a choker with a leather tie attached to it. 

“By sources, do you mean Jihoon?” Soonyoung asks, eyeing the dark corner of the store where they keep their adult products. This place used to be so fun when he and Jihoon were teenagers. They would turn on and hide vibrators around the store, annoying the employees. The shenanigans ended when the general manager caught them and banned them both from the store. 

“Of course,” the other answers nonchalantly, drifting farther into that dark corner of the store. 

“Why do you hate me?!”

“On the contrary,” he retorts, browsing the overpriced lingerie. “I love you, Soonyoung, but you’re so much fun to tease.”

“Whatever,” Soonyoung huffs. “I’m going to Gamestop.”

Just as he turns around, the general manager is standing there with his arms crossed. 

“Kwon Soonyoung,” he spits bitterly as if Soonyoung was his greatest enemy. I suppose it’s the way things must be between mischievous teenagers and Spencer’s managers. “I thought I told you weren’t allowed in this store anymore.” He glances at Jeonghan and Seungcheol in confusion. “Where’s the short one?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Soonyoung can see Jeonghan snickering. If Jihoon were actually here, he’d give both of them an earful. 

“He’s out sick today,” Soonyoung deadpans, trying to channel the menacing spirit Jihoon usually has on others. Though, it doesn’t work quite as well when he does it. In fact, he’s pretty sure he just looks like an angry puppy. “I was on my way out anyway.”

Then, he brushes past the guy, leaving Jeonghan and Seungcheol behind. 

In the end, he gets an Overwatch vinyl figure for Jihoon from Gamestop. 

******

He comes home exhausted later that evening. 

All he wants to do is collapse on the couch, but when he opens the door, he finds Jihoon beat him to it. 

The other is lying face-down on the couch. No lights are on. Soonyoung’s seen this before.

Finals, he determines. 

“You okay, buddy?” Soonyoung questions with concern, approaching Jihoon to make sure he’s not dead or anything. 

An incoherent mumbling sound comes from their hideous pea green couch.

Soonyoung breathes a sigh of relief. 

“Wanna talk about it?” he tries.

Jihoon lifts his head off the couch. Both his eyes are bloodshot, and his hair is sticking up in 10 different directions. 

“Just spent 5 hours studying with Seungkwan,” he responds, sitting up and trying to flatten his hair back to its normal state. It doesn’t work very well. “I’m in Hell.”

“I never knew Hell was a cheap, poorly air-conditioned apartment on the far-side of L.A.,” Soonyoung jokes, sitting down next to the other. “I guess we were all wrong this whole time.”

Jihoon quietly snorts, so Soonyoung knows it’s working. 

It’s silent for a moment. 

“Your mom called me by the way,” Jihoon states, stretching as he gets up from the couch to wander into the question. “She wanted to know if I wanted to come to eat Christmas dinner at your house.”

“Did you say yes?”

“You know I can’t say no to Mrs. Kwon. How was shopping with Jeonghan and Seungcheol?”

“Horrible. I got kicked out of Spencer’s.”

Jihoon hums in acknowledgment from the kitchen. “It’s good to know Mr. Miller remembers you.”

“I guess I’ll never be able to buy a sex toy from there,” Soonyoung groans.

Jihoon scoffs as he walks into the room with two Pop-Tarts. “Like you need any more,” he snarks. “I’ve seen your collection, and you have enough.”

Soonyoung genuinely laughs for the first time that day. 

“Wanna go out to pier tomorrow?” he asks. 

“Like an actual date? Where we’re not just watching Attack on Titan in our underwear and eating spaghetti?” Jihoon asks in mock-disbelief, even though Soonyoung knows he loves his spaghetti.

“Why not?” Soonyoung shrugs. “We are dating, aren’t we?”

“Yeah,” Jihoon grins widely, and Soonyoung has a sneaking suspicion it’s the first time he’s genuinely smiled today.


End file.
